A Michigan man lured his young Italian au pair with promises of caring for his family, but within 24 hours, he handcuffed, gagged, and raped her while forcing her to declare on camera that she was a willing participant.
Arisknight Arkin-Everett Winfree, 32, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for sexually exploiting four people in 2022, announced the US Attorney's Office in a press release.
Winfree was convicted on multiple charges, including kidnapping, coercion and enticement, attempted coercion and enticement, and production of child pornography.
In September 2022, Winfree used AuPair.com to contact a young woman living in Italy under the guise that "his family was in need of an au pair to care for his niece."
He assisted her with travel arrangements, including a link to register for a visa waiver program and instructions to tell U.S. immigration authorities that she was traveling for tourism rather than work.
She arrived in Detroit from Italy on October 12, 2022, and then took a bus to the East Lansing residence he owned with his mother, according to court documents.
Upon her arrival, she noticed that all the ground-floor windows were covered with newspapers and that there were no toys, clothing, or other signs indicating a toddler lived there.
When she brought it up, Winfree dismissed her concern, claiming "she had to take care of the niece only two weeks per month" and asked her to clean the home instead.
One day after her arrival, the 32-year-old reportedly handcuffed her, placed a gag ball in her mouth, and raped her as he filmed the act and told her to say on camera loudly and repeatedly that she consented to the acts.
"I felt I was dying," she said in court documents.
"For the first time in my life, I prayed to God."
Following the horrifying incident, she demanded she return home to Italy.
On October 14, 2022, at roughly 2:40 a.m., Winfree drove the victim to a bus stop and left her there.
Arriving back in Milan, she immediately checked into a hospital to be administered a rape kit before reporting Winfree to Italian authorities.
That December, the FBI searched Winfree's home and seized 10 firearms, more than 79 grams of cocaine, other narcotics, scales, evidence of drug trafficking, and sexual stimulation devices.
Authorities also found photos on a cellphone depicting the Italian au pair naked and in compromising positions, with blood on a pillowcase near her face.
Furthermore, the defendant was linked to another au pair and two minors—one of whom was a 17-year-old high school student he'd been talking to on Instagram for months and engaged in sexual acts with her at his home.
The second minor—a 16-year-old girl—was asked to send him pictures of her on Snapchat and WhatsApp while engaging in sexual acts.
"Arisknight Winfree is a sexual predator whose horrendous acts caused immeasurable harm to the women and girls upon whom he preyed," said US Attorney Mark Totten.
"This life sentence is necessary to protect the community and bring a measure of justice to the survivors."
