Man lured women home via Au Pair website; Tied up and attacked, another escapes

The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan said Monday announced Arisknight Winfree, 32, of East Lansing, was sentenced to life in prison in 2022 for sexually exploiting four women, including two minors. He previously pleaded no contest to kidnapping, coercing and enticing a person to travel for the purpose of illegal sexual activity, attempted coercion and enticement, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to prosecutors, he “targeted his victims in multiple ways, including by using the messaging service on various social media apps and through an online service that connects individuals, often young women, with host families who provide childcare and light housekeeping.” need work.”

One of Winfree’s four victims contacted him through AuPair.com in July 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, after “falsely” giving the impression that he needed someone to watch his 7-year-old niece every other week to fit. The woman, an 18-year-old referred to only as “AS” in court documents, was flown to Michigan by Winfree on September 22, 2022.

Once she arrived at his house, she apparently noticed that “all the windows were covered with paper and cardboard” – and saw cameras all over the house, “several knives and guns” and no evidence of children.

According to documents cited by FOX 17Winfree allegedly asked the teen if she was “good at giving massages” and asked her to rub his shoulders. She was able to escape the situation after her family in Kansas became concerned about her and called police asking them to conduct a welfare check at Winfree’s home. “With the assistance of law enforcement, the victim left the residence with her belongings and returned to Kansas,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Another victim was a young woman living in Italy when she also met Winfree through the same au pair website because he again “wrongly” said his family needed help with his niece. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said they began communicating on September 5, 2022 before flying the 18-year-old to Michigan on October 12, 2022.

“Hello, we think you would be a good fit. We live in USA East Lansing MI, are an hour and a half from the beaches and travel often… Let us know how much allowance you would like per week for wages We will cover all your costs if you come,” Winfree reportedly told the girl.above) also showed him that his family loved being outdoors, telling her, “You’re going to have so much fun.”

However, what happened when she arrived at his home was a complete nightmare.

“When she arrived, Winfree demanded that the Italian teenager clean his house before handcuffing her, placing a gag in her mouth and raping her.” read an earlier issue from the US Attorney’s Office.

“He asked me if I agreed to him touching me and if I liked it. I was scared and said yes,” she said via court documents, claiming he was recording his actions. “He pulled my hair and forced me to agree to what he was doing. He asked me to repeat ‘I like it’, ‘I like it’, ‘yes’ several times while he was filming and photographing. “

“Then I asked him again if I wanted to go back home (to Italy). He instructed me not to say anything to anyone,” she added, saying he left her tied up until 2am. After he dropped her off at the bus station, she returned to Italy and was immediately given a rape kit.

Videos eventually found at his home reportedly showed the attack – while, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Officehe also spoke to a friend about how he “intended to kill the Italian woman and dispose of her body to avoid detection or prosecution.”

Winfree is also accused of soliciting nude photos of a 17-year-old teenage girl via social media before later picking her up from her high school on November 30, 2022 and taking her to his home, where he “performed sexual acts on her.” Another victim is a 16-year-old girl whom he allegedly instructed to “perform sexual acts and send images and videos to him via SnapChat and later via WhatsApp.”

According to a previous press release, Winfree also told a friend that he wanted to use one of the girls “to recruit more high school girls that he could sexually exploit,” as seen in the screenshot above. “We need her to bring other hs girls. They aren’t fat lol,” he wrote.

Winfree was arrested on January 24, 2023.

“Winfree posed a danger to the entire world from his home here in West Michigan,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said after his sentencing. “My office will do everything in its power to identify and prosecute perpetrators like him who use the Internet to exploit others. For the victims, we are ready to listen and protect. And for anyone who uses the Internet, be vigilant: you can never be sure who is on the other side of the screen.”