Roxbury ex-con charged with forcing young runaway into prostitution

Tyrone Battle, 33, of Roxbury, was arraigned today on charges of aggravated rape and trafficking a person for sexual servitude in Dorchester District Court, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Judge Thomas Kaplanes set bail at $75,000 - prosecutors had sought $500,000 - but Battle will be held behind bars no matter what because federal prosecutors obtained "a detainer" for allegedly violating his probation on a federal gun charge, the DA's office says.

Battle also has a state gun conviction on his record - in 1999, when he was 19 - as well as a conviction in 2002 for distribution of a Class B drug.

Battle was arrested yesterday after his alleged hooker, now 17, told a law-enforcement official that Battle had been offering her up for sale for the past three years through ads on Web sites known for prostitution ads. Battle also abused and raped the girl, prosecutors charged.

The victim disclosed that she had run away from home at the age of 14 and that Battle had first approached her in a bus station, pretending to be a friend and providing her with shelter. Over time, however, he became violent and began orchestrating "dates" between her and men responding to ads he allegedly placed online. Suffolk prosecutors issued an administrative subpoena to a web site that promotes prostitution. They quickly turned up ads corroborating her statement. Evidence also suggests that Battle transported the victim to engage in sexual acitivty with men in Malden, Revere, and Saugus as well as locations in Boston.

If convicted, Battle faces life in prison. Two weeks ago, Suffolk prosecutors won the state's first convictions under a new state law against human trafficking that was written in part by Suffolk DA Dan Conley.

In 2006, as he awaited leniency on the federal gun charge - which came after a neighbor called 911 to report him threatening his then girlfriend - Battle's lawyer argued for leniency, saying he had grown up the son of abusive and drug-addicted parents, that he had watched his best friend get shot to death just two feet away and that he had diminished mental capacity.

Innocent, etc.