BOSTON — A convicted sex trafficker from Massachusetts who preyed on women who lost their jobs and homes during the pandemic has been sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney said.
Anthony Coleman, 36, of Lynn, was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Boston to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns handed down his sentence. Coleman was also ordered to pay $77,000 in restitution.
In December 2025, Coleman pleaded guilty to two counts of benefitting financially from trafficking and two counts of knowingly persuading and coercing a person to travel to engage in prostitution.
A federal grand jury indicted Coleman in March 2024. He was subsequently arrested in April 2024. Coleman has remained in federal custody since that time.
In a disturbing case of sexual abuse and exploitation, Coleman targeted victims who had lost their jobs or homes during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns between March and August 2020, prosecutors said.
Coleman had his victims move in with him, posted or controlled online commercial sex advertisements for them, provided them with scripts to negotiate payment and terms with commercial sex buyers, and transported his victims to hotels and other places to engage in commercial sex, prosecutors said.
The victims were forced to give Coleman all the money they made, prosecutors said. Coleman also regularly coerced his victims into having sex with him.
Specifically, in March 2020, Coleman recruited one victim who had lost her job due to the pandemic.
“The victim would sometimes be forced to engage in sex acts with 10-16 clients per day, with Coleman taking all the profits,” prosecutors said.
Coleman also took the victim to Florida several times to engage in commercial sex. Prosecutors said Coleman also physically abused the victim, one time holding her underwater and threatening to drown her.
Around March and April 2020, Coleman recruited a second victim, convincing her to come live with him after she was kicked out of her home.
Prosecutors said the victim was unable to get a job because many businesses were closed due to COVID-19. In May 2020, Coleman persuaded the victim to travel to California to engage in commercial sex.
Prosecutors said that after she left him, Coleman threatened the victim by telling her he would hurt her mother and her sibling.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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