(WWJ) — An East Lansing man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading no contest to sexually exploiting four women, including two minors and an Italian woman he lured to Michigan under the agreement she would be an au pair.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten’s office announced Monday that 32-year-old Arisknight Winfree has been sentenced to life in federal prison. He was convicted of five charges, including kidnapping, coercion and enticement, attempted coercion and enticement and production of child pornography.
Totten called Winfree “a sexual predator whose horrendous acts caused immeasurable harm to the women and girls upon whom he preyed.”
The attorney’s office says Winfree targeted his victims in multiple ways, including messaging them on social media and using AuPair.com, an online service that connects people — often young women — with host families in need of childcare and light housework.
As described by Merriam-Webster, an au pair is “usually a young foreign person who cares for children and does domestic work for a family in return for room and board and the opportunity to learn the family’s language."
Winfree was convicted of kidnapping and coercion and enticement in connection with the crimes he committed against a young Italian woman. Authorities say Winfree contacted her in early September 2022 through AuPair.com and “falsely represented that his family was in search of an au pair to care for his niece.”
On Oct. 12 the woman flew from Italy to Detroit, then took a bus to Winfree’s home in East Lansing. Court records show the day after she arrived in East Lansing, the woman took a shower and Winfree “instructed her to wear only a bathrobe after the shower.”
He then began touching the victim’s legs and she rejected his approach, according to federal documents. That’s when he went behind her and put his arm around her neck, leading to a brief struggle. Winfree handcuffed behind her back then put his hand on her nose and mouth and placed a gag ball in her mouth, according to the documents.
He then raped her while she was handcuffed and left her in a locked room overnight, with her hands cuffed and her feet tied. Totten’s office says a friend of Winfree’s planned to testify, prior to the no contest plea, that Winfree called him while the victim was tied up and he indicated that he planned to kill her and hide her body.
Totten’s office says the friend convinced Winfree to release her instead and let her go home.
On the charge of attempted coercion and enticement, the attorney’s office says he connected with a Kansas woman through AuPair.com in July 2022, “falsely representing he needed someone to watch his 7-year-old niece every other week.” Winfree paid for her to fly to Michigan on Sept. 14, 2022.
When she got to Winfree’s home, she noticed all the windows were covered with paper and cardboard. She also noticed there were cameras around the house and saw no signs of children. Totten’s office says the woman also saw several knives and guns around the house.
The following day Winfree tried to get the woman to give him a massage, which his friend would testify that Winfree “intended to use massages as a pretext to get women and girls to engage in sexual acts with him.”
Two days after arriving in East Lansing, the woman’s family called East Lansing police to conduct a welfare check. When they showed up, the victim was “distraught” and officers helped her gather her belongings and return to Kansas.
On one count of production of child porn, Totten’s office says Winfree connected with a 17-year-old girl on Instagram in November 2022. He got her to take nude images of herself and she sent them via Instagram. On Nov. 30 he picked her up from her high school, drove her to his home and engaged in sexual acts.
In the other instance of child porn, authorities say he connected with a 16-year-old girl on Snapchat and got her to send explicit images of herself on the app, as well as WhatsApp.
“The sentencing of Arisknight Winfree marks a significant step towards healing for all those who suffered from his callous and heinous criminal acts,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “Individuals who engage in sexual exploitation involving minors will be investigated and arrested by the FBI and our law enforcement partners in Michigan.”