Man who lured teen au pair to Michigan to kidnap, rape her gets life in prison
EAST LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Michigan man will spend the rest of his life in prison after luring an au pair to his home to kidnap and rape her.
According to the Department of Justice, Arisknight Winfree, 32, of East Lansing, posted ads looking for au pairs to watch his 7-year-old niece in 2022.
Winfree then arranged for a teen to travel from Italy to East Lansing to work for him, and then kidnapped and raped her in October 2022. Winfree allegedly told the girl that his fictional family loved nature and the outdoors and that she was going to have so much fun.
When the girl arrived, authorities say Winfree made her clean his home before he handcuffed her. Authorities said he put a ball gag in the girl's mouth and raped her.
Winfree also lured another victim to his home with an au pair ad. That victim, who is from Kansas, was removed from Winfree's house by police when her family realized the situation was not safe in September 2022. According to authorities, Winfree's windows were covered with cardboard and paper, and there were knives and guns around the home.
"Arisknight Winfree is a sexual predator whose horrendous acts caused immeasurable harm to the women and girls upon whom he preyed," said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. "This life sentence is necessary to protect the community and bring a measure of justice to the survivors."
He also created child porn of two minors, authorities said. Winfree recorded himself having sex with one of the girls, and he convinced the other to send him pornographic videos through Snapchat, authorities said. Winfree is accused of telling a friend that he wanted to use one of the girls to recruit more high school girls for him to sexually exploit.
Winfree was convicted of kidnapping, coercion and enticement, attempted coercion and enticement, and production of child pornography.
"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.