Crime & Courts

Anchorage man charged with running prostitution ring

A 31-year-old Anchorage man faces charges for his role in a prostitution ring, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Court records show Xavier Lanell Cook Benson has been charged with sex trafficking, sexual and physical assault, theft and weapons misconduct. He faces a total of 13 felonies.

The charges are the result of two law enforcement agencies' investigation into Benson, according to assistant attorney general Adam Alexander.

Benson based his operation in Anchorage but also sent prostitutes to Juneau, Kenai and Fairbanks, Alexander said. He is accused of abusing the prostitutes he dealt with, Alexander said.

This is how the investigation happened, according to the state's bail memorandum:

On May 27, Anchorage police responded to a report of a robbery and assault. They contacted a woman who reported that Benson hit her in the face with a pistol because he believed she had stolen from him.

The woman was a prostitute working with Benson, and other prostitutes and bystanders on the street witnessed the daylight assault.

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Anchorage Police Department and FBI investigators subsequently contacted other prostitutes working with Benson. During an investigator interview with one of the women, Benson sent a threatening text message to her.

The memorandum says "voluminous text messages" supported another prostitute's accusations that Benson subjected her to repeated sexual assaults.

The 20-year-old woman said she was abused on one occasion because Benson thought she'd been "disrespectful," the memorandum says.

Travel and hotel receipts were collected to establish that he sent women to other Alaska communities.

A combined task force arrested Benson on Friday morning. His bail was set at $200,000.

In 2003, he was convicted in state court for felony eluding. He violated his probation by possessing a weapon and served a little more than a year behind bars, the records say.

He was arrested in 2006 for once again carrying a gun and sent back to prison, the records say.

Prosecutors say he was released from federal custody on Jan. 20, 2010, and began working with six to eight prostitutes shortly thereafter.

Benson faces 40 to 60 years in prison, Alexander said. He made an initial court appearance Friday at the Nesbett Courthouse; his trial is set to begin May 26.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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