Opinion ID: 815314
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficient Evidence of Intent

Text: In order to convict Mr. Tavares of transporting B.B., the Government was required to prove, among other things, that he had the “intent that [she] engage in prostitution.” 18 U.S.C. § 2423(a). This element requires proof that “criminal sexual activity [was] one of the several motives or purposes . . . not a mere incident of the trip or trips, but instead was at least one of the defendant’s motivations for taking the trip in the first place.” United States v. Ellis, 935 F.2d 385, 390 (1st Cir. 1991) (alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted). When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, we reverse only if “the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, could not have persuaded any trier of fact of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Paradis, 802 F.2d 553, 559 (1st Cir. 1986). We do not weigh -18- evidence or assess credibility. See United States v. Downs-Moses, 329 F.3d 253, 261 (1st Cir. 2003). Mr. Tavares maintains that the Government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he transported B.B. with the requisite intent. According to Mr. Tavares, a jury could not draw a reasonable inference that he intended that B.B. engage in prostitution until they had arrived in Boston, i.e., after transportation was completed. In support, he relies on the fact that only B.B.’s participation in an escort service, not prostitution, was discussed explicitly in Maine. The record shows that the Government met its burden at trial. The jury reasonably could infer from B.B.’s testimony that Mr. Tavares’s purpose in bringing her from Maine to Boston was that she work for him as a prostitute. The discussion about “[g]oing to Boston to make money” reasonably can be understood as relating to prostitution. This interpretation is especially justifiable because Mr. Tavares is an admitted pimp, he picked B.B. up with another pimp (Peeples) and took her to discuss “mak[ing] money” with a third pimp (Mr. Jones). Even disregarding this statement, Mr. Tavares’s conduct during the ride from Maine to Boston clearly evidenced his intent in taking the trip. En route from Maine to Boston, Mr. Tavares instructed B.B. to choose a pimp for whom to work and told her his rules for the prostitutes working for him. Furthermore, the jury -19- was not limited to considering B.B.’s testimony in assessing Mr. Tavares’s intent. For example, an FBI agent testified that Mr. Tavares told him that Peeples was B.B.’s sister’s pimp but Peeples “couldn’t handle both sisters and so they [Mr. Tavares and Peeples] had made arrangements . . . to bring [B.B.] down to the Boston area.”14 Mr. Tavares’s contention that no intent reasonably could be inferred from this evidence is unavailing. The evidence produced at trial was more than sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Tavares had the requisite intent at least during, if not before, transportation.