East Lansing man convicted of sexual assault by au pair and exploitation of teens

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An East Lansing man convicted of kidnapping and sexually exploiting four women, including two teenagers, was sentenced to life in federal prison, officials said.

Arisknight Arkin-Everett Winfree, 32, was sentenced by a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, in Grand Rapids.

“Arisknight Winfree is a sexual predator whose heinous acts caused immeasurable harm to the women and girls he preyed upon,” Mark Totten, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement Monday. “This life sentence is necessary to protect the community and bring a measure of justice to survivors.”

An attorney representing Winfree was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.

In his Sept. 23 sentencing memo, Heath Lynch said his client initially objected to recommendations in a pre-sentencing report that called for enhancement of “recidivist and dangerous sex offenders against minors” but later withdrew them.

Winfree also withdrew objections to the report’s inclusion of relevant but uncharged conduct investigated by law enforcement agencies.

It also urged the court not to punish Winfree under a law covering crimes of sexual abuse involving a victim under the age of 18 who is under the custody, custody or supervisory control of the suspect for ‘committing crimes against able-bodied adults’.

Authorities said Winfree sexually assaulted a Kansas woman who visited his home to interview as an au pair. They said he raped another victim at his home after she arrived from Italy.

Winfree told a friend with whom he shared the pornography he made that he planned to kill the Italian woman and dispose of her body, investigators reported. Officials identified the friend as Paul Heiselman and charged him with possessing the pornography. Heiselman was sentenced to 41 months in prison in April.

In February 2023, a federal grand jury indicted Winfree on five counts: kidnapping, coercing and enticing a person to travel for illegal sexual activity, attempted coercion and enticement, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Investigators said Winfree produced child pornography featuring the two teenage girls. He faced a life sentence.

Authorities said Winfree forced 16- and 17-year-old girls to send him nude photos of themselves via social media. He allegedly picked up the 17-year-old from school and filmed him having sex with her.

In April, Winfree pleaded no contest to the five charges. A no contest plea means that a suspect did not want to plead guilty but admits that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.

“The sentencing of Arisknight Winfree marks an important step toward healing for all who suffered from his callous and heinous criminal actions,” Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in a statement. “Individuals who engage in sexual exploitation involving minors will be investigated and arrested by the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Michigan. The collective investigative efforts of members of FBI Michigan, the East Lansing Police Department, and the prosecution efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western Michigan Bureau prevented Mr. Winfree from committing another crime.”

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@CharlesERamirez

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