A man convicted of crimes related to his recruiting a then-18-year-old Bowling Green woman into illegal sex work could spend the rest of his life in prison if a judge grants the prosecution’s request.

Portier Quartez Govan, 39, will be sentenced June 11 in U.S. District Court.

A jury convicted Govan in December of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, obstructing an investigation, interstate transportation for prostitution and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Govan coerced the 18-year-old into sex work after a chance meeting between the two at a Scottsville Road gas station on Aug. 8, 2022.

The victim in the case, who testified under the pseudonym “C.C.”,  told jurors that Govan sexually assaulted her on one occasion and fired a gun in front her face another time while the two were sitting in her car.

Jurors also heard evidence that the victim engaged in at least four acts of sex work during the time she was with Govan, who kept the money that clients paid her.

Govan and Brittany Howard were arrested Aug. 11, 2022, by the Bowling Green Police Department.

Howard pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting interstate transportation for prostitution and to obstruction, testified against Govan at his trial and was sentenced to time served.

Attorney Francisco Zornosa, a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, filed a sentencing memorandum on Monday asking for the maximum statutory penalty for Govan, citing his “egregious conduct” in this case and prior criminal convictions in three other states, some for conduct that included residential burglary and illegal firearms possession.

“The defendant preyed on a struggling young woman and subjected her to repeated acts of physical and sexual violence, all for his financial gain,” Zornosa said in the memorandum. “He fired a gun towards C.C. in broad daylight without thinking twice, and he easily could have hurt or killed C.C. or someone traveling next to their car…the defendant’s prior periods of incarceration did nothing to deter him from being violent, engaging in physical and sexual violence and preying on the vulnerability of others to make money.”

Federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a defendant’s prior criminal history and the seriousness of his latest offenses, calculated a penalty range of 30 years to life in prison for Govan.

Govan’s attorney, Bryan Sergent, has not filed any paperwork arguing for a particular sentence for his client.

At trial, Sergent argued that the victim’s statements to police did not establish that she had been forced into sex work unwillingly.