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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The owner of a Rhode Island hydroponics business that produces lettuce under the Boston Greens label has been charged with sex-trafficking a minor.
Lewis Valenti is CEO of West Kingston-based Atlantic Produce Inc. He appeared Tuesday in federal court in Providence.
Valenti has homes in East Greenwich and Reading (REH'-ding), Massachusetts. He turned himself over to authorities Monday.
Prosecutors say Valenti contacted Rhode Island state police in March to report someone was threatening to tell his family about his sexual encounters with a 17-year-old girl. Investigators learned Valenti had sex with the girl dozens of times beginning in 2014 after the girl's boyfriend posted ads on backpage.com offering her as a prostitute.
The girl's boyfriend also faces charges.
Valenti's attorney tells the Providence Journal he plans to resign as CEO.
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