A Topeka man who was part owner of a Lawrence night club and six of his associates are charged with sex trafficking in an indictment unsealed today, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.
The indictment alleges the defendants provided female commercial sex workers – including a 17-year-old girl – to clients in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas. The indictment alleges the defendants recruited females who needed money and a place to live from various places — including homeless shelters — to be commercial sex workers.
On Oct. 21, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a sealed indictment against Frank Boswell, 41, Topeka, Kan., who was part owner of Club Magic in Lawrence and Magic Lawn Care in Topeka. (Club Magic is now closed.) Boswell is charged in count one (conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor), count two (conspiracy to operate an interstate prostitution business), count three (sex trafficking of a minor), counts 4, 5, 6 and 7 (using a phone in furtherance of an interstate prostitution business), count 8 (transporting a person from Kansas to Nebraska for prostitution), count 9 (enticing a person to travel from Kansas to Nebraska for prostitution) and count 10 (transporting a minor from Kansas to Missouri for prostitution).
Six other Topeka persons also were indicted in this case, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
The indictment alleges Boswell relied on the Internet to promote his sex workers and kept in touch with them via mobile phones. At times while they were out of state commercial sex workers wired their earnings back to Boswell in Kansas.