A Michigan man who targeted victims, including two youngsters and a lady he lured from Italy and sexually abused, via a messaging service that connects au pairs with host families in need of child care and cleaning, will spend the rest of his life in prison, police said.
Arisknight Arkin-Everett Winfree, 32, was sentenced on Monday for sexually exploiting four persons in 2022, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office. He was found guilty of several offenses, including kidnapping, compulsion and enticement, attempted coercion and enticement, and the creation of child pornography.
“Arisknight Winfree is a sexual predator whose horrendous acts caused immeasurable harm to the women and girls upon whom he preyed,” stated U.S. Attorney Mark Totten in a press release. “This life sentence is necessary to protect the community and bring a measure of justice to the survivors.”
On September 5, 2022, Winfree contacted a young woman residing in Italy via the website AuPair.com, claiming that his “family” needed an au pair to care for his niece, according to prosecutors.
“We think you’d be a great fit,” Winfree told the young woman at one point, requesting that she contact him over WhatsApp to discuss further specifics, according to court filings.
He assisted her with travel plans, providing a link to register for a visa waiver program and instructions to inform US immigration authorities that she was traveling for tourism rather than employment. She went from Italy to Detroit on October 12, 2022, then took a bus to his East Lansing home, which he co-owned with his mother, according to court filings.
When she arrived at the residence, she discovered that “all of the windows on the ground floor were covered by newspapers” and that “the house lacked toys, clothing, or evidence typical of a toddler living there.”
When questioned, Winfree explained to the victim that “she had to take care of the niece only two weeks per month” and requested her to instead clean his house.
The day after she arrived, while the victim was cleaning his house, Winfree chained her hands behind her back, placed a gag ball in her mouth, and raped her while filming and instructing her to state loudly and repeatedly on camera that she consented to the actions.
“I felt like I was dying,” she stated in court filings. “For the first time in my life, I prayed to God.”
After that, she told him she wanted to return to Italy. According to court filings, he warned her not to tell anyone and frightened her by claiming to work for the US government. He left her chained and alone in the room overnight. Then, at approximately 2:30 a.m. on October 14, 2022, he unlocked her bindings, instructed her to dress and pack, and drove her to a bus stop, where he left her.
The woman called her boyfriend in Italy, and her family made arrangements for her to return home. She landed in Milan the next day and went straight to the hospital, where she was given a rape kit, according to court documents.
During a search of Winfree’s residence in December, the FBI discovered 10 weapons, more than 79 grams of cocaine, other narcotics, scales, and other drug trafficking evidence, and sexual stimulation equipment, according to court filings.
Authorities discovered images of the Italian au pair naked and in compromising situations on her cellphone, as well as blood on a pillowcase next to her face, according to court filings.
Authorities also connected the defendant with another au pair and two youngsters.
He flew the other au pair to his home in September 2022. When she arrived, she discovered that the windows were covered and that there were cameras, knives, and pistols inside—but no children. Her relatives called police two days after she arrived, asking for a welfare check, and with the assistance of law enforcement, she was able to grab her belongings and return to Kansas, according to prosecutors.
In one case involving a juvenile, Winfree picked up a 17-year-old high school girl he had been messaging on Instagram for months and participated in sexual acts with her at his home, according to investigators. Authorities discovered still photographs of the teen engaging in sexual intercourse with Winfree on a bedroom camera, according to court filings.
In a case involving a second juvenile, he urged a 16-year-old girl to give him images of her participating in sexual acts through Snapchat and WhatsApp.