BOSTON — The mask has slipped. The man parading as a community savior is now accused of being a predator running drugs and exploiting women under the cover of a nonprofit. Javan Tooley, 36, founder and CEO of “Adapt & Evolve,” was dragged into custody after federal agents say they caught him red-handed peddling crack cocaine — with a young child sitting in the car as his alleged empire came crashing down.

The FBI’s Child Exploitation–Human Trafficking Task Force says Tooley’s nonprofit, which claimed to help ex-offenders “re-enter society,” was nothing more than camouflage for his darker trade: drugs, sex, and fear. A federal grand jury indicted him on September 18 for distribution of cocaine base, capping what prosecutors say was a brazen return to crime.

Tooley’s rap sheet is no secret. In 2010, he was convicted in federal court for distributing crack cocaine in Boston, busted after a hand-to-hand sale to undercover cops. He served five years in prison and racked up nearly two more for violating supervised release. But instead of reforming, prosecutors say he found new ways to prey on Boston’s most vulnerable, recruiting women battling addiction into prostitution and keeping them under his thumb by bragging about connections to cops and politicians.

The allegations read like a crime drama. On September 10, Tooley allegedly pulled up near Fields Corner in Dorchester — just steps from his nonprofit office — and sold 100 grams of crack cocaine. Disturbingly, agents say a child sat in the back seat of his car as the deal went down. Less than two weeks later, on September 23, he allegedly showed up for another sale. This time, the FBI swooped in. When agents opened his stash, they say they found about 160 grams of crack cocaine.

Prosecutors claim Tooley’s nonprofit, Adapt & Evolve, was his stage prop. He allegedly used its name to pose as a community leader, while privately running drugs and forcing women into sex work. Victims told investigators he ruled through fear, claiming powerful friends would protect him. Instead, those same “connections” couldn’t stop an FBI sting that’s now made him the face of one of Boston’s ugliest scandals.

Tooley, who split his time between Dorchester and Brockton, faces federal charges that could lock him away for decades. What was once sold to Boston as redemption and re-entry now looks more like exploitation and empire-building — a nonprofit turned front, a city duped, and a community betrayed.