Judge sentences Dorchester woman to minimum 25 years in prison for kidnapping and assaulting minor at gunpoint

BOSTON, June 27, 2025 – A Suffolk County Superior Court judge today sentenced a Dorchester woman to a minimum of 25 years in prison followed by five years of probation for kidnapping a 14-year-old two separate times at gunpoint and assaulting him, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

CHARLESE HORTON, 47, was convicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of threats, two counts of possession of a firearm, one count of possession of ammunition, two counts of possession of a large capacity feeding device, and two counts of improper storage of a firearm. 

Judge Debra Squires-Lee sentenced Horton to a minimum of 25 years and no more than 35 years in prison followed by five years of probation.

Assistant District Attorney Laura Montgomery read an impact statement from the victim, now 20. “I want the court to understand that this person took more than time away from me. They took my potential, my confidence and my joy. They robbed me of my teenage years and I can never get them back.”

Squires-Lee commended the victim for testifying in court, calling him “brave” and telling him that he will “find (your) way forward because I saw that bravery.”

On October 25, 2019, Horton kidnapped the victim at gunpoint in an alley in Dorchester. Horton threatened the victim, saying he owed her money. She made him get on his knees, blindfolded him and inserted a hard penile shaped object into his mouth. After the blindfold was removed, the victim was eventually able to flee.

Horton kidnapped the victim again, also at gunpoint, on February 7, 2020, at a party on Geneva Avenue in Dorchester. When the victim left the party, he observed Horton in a car and she called out to him. He began to run, but Horton pulled a gun and forced him to get into the back seat of the car. They drove around and then picked up the victim’s younger sister and cousin. They were eventually able to leave the car.

The victim described the kidnapper as wearing a distinctive hat with a marijuana leaf on the front in both kidnapping incidents, among other identifying details.

During a police interview, Horton was shown surveillance images of a person wearing a marijuana-leaf hat and clothing matching the description provided by the victim. Horton admitted that she was the person in the photographs.

Police later found the clothing seen in the images inside her apartment.  Horton also told officers she had two guns stored in a closet in her apartment. The victim had previously described the firearms used during the kidnappings, and the guns recovered from Horton’s residence matched that description.

Horton pleaded guilty to sexual assault and kidnapping of a child under the age of 14 in 2000. Horton registered as a level three sex offender following that conviction.

“This victim showed enormous courage by coming before a jury and talking about an incident that, in his compelling words, caused him deep and lasting harm.  I thank him for everything he did to help move this case forward and I’m grateful for the work of prosecutors, investigators and victim-witness advocates in securing this verdict and sentence,” Hayden said.

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

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.

 James Borghesani, Chief of Communications