Boston, Jan. 17, 2013—A Dorchester man was ordered held on high bail on charges he coerced a teenage girl into prostitution and viciously beat her when she said she wanted to stop, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

MICHAEL McKOY (D.O.B. 4/27/85) was arraigned in Roxbury District Court yesterday on charges of trafficking of a person for sexual servitude, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and threatening to commit a crime. Assistant District Attorney Joseph Roseme requested McKoy be held on $50,000, stay away and have no contact with the victim or witnesses, and be subject to GPS monitoring and a curfew. Judge Franco Gobourne imposed the requested bail and stay-away order but denied the request for monitoring and curfew.

In addition, McKoy’s bail was revoked on two open cases out of Dorchester District Court in which he is charged with armed robbery, assault and battery, and larceny of a motor vehicle, and a separate case in which he is charged with operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

According to prosecutors, McKoy coerced the 19-year-old victim into prostitution three days prior to the Jan. 8 assault. On that date, she told McKoy that she did not want to continue selling herself for sex, prosecutors said. McKoy slapped her in the face and told her he was not afraid to kill her, then strangled her on and off for five minutes and struck her with a belt approximately 30 times, prosecutors said.

The victim hid at a friend’s house for two days, during which time she received threatening text messages from McKoy, including one stating, “I’m going to have my peoples on the lookout for u after today,” prosecutors said.

“We’re determined to offer the victims of human trafficking a way out of this life, and to bring those who exploit them to justice,” Conley said. “Anyone who needs help escaping a pimp or abuser can count on us for help.”

As Suffolk County DA, Conley serves on the board of trustees of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, which coordinates the Support to End Exploitation Now Coalition, a partnership of more than 35 law enforcement, social service, and medical and mental health providers. The SEEN Coalition works to divert prostituted youth away from those who abuse them and toward a new life outside of exploitation.

McKoy is represented by Carlton Williams. He will return to court on Feb. 8.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.