BISMARCK, N.D. - An appeals court has upheld the conviction of a man accused of sex trafficking in the Williston area.
A federal jury in 2015 found Keith Graves guilty on five counts of sex trafficking by force or coercion, and distribution of methamphetamine. It was one of the first high-profile human trafficking cases in the North Dakota oil patch.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Graves' notion that he the government didn't give him evidence in a timely manner and in a form that allowed him to adequately prepare for proceedings. Graves represented himself at trial.
Graves was one of the main subjects in "The Overnighters," which won an award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It followed a pastor who opened his church to homeless oil workers.