EAST LANSING, Mich — An East Lansing man faces life in prison after being indicted on several charges including rape and kidnapping.
Arisknight Arkin-Everett Winfree faces charges of kidnapping, coercing and enticing someone to travel for the purposes of illegal sexual activity, attempted coercion and enticement, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
The indictment alleges Winfree posted a false advertisement for an au pair, and arranged for a teenager from Italy to travel to the United Stated to work for him. Winfree used a fictional family to entice the teen into traveling to East Lansing, claiming his family loved the outdoors and she would have fun.
When the teen arrived, Winfree allegedly forced her to clean his entire home before placing handcuffs on her wrists, a gag in her mouth and raping her.
Winfree used the same tactic to lure another teen, this time from Kansas, to his home. Luckily, her family realized the situation was unsafe and contacted the police, who removed her from his home.
The indictment goes on to detail two other charges related to sexual exploitation of two minors. Winfree allegedly recorded himself having sexual intercourse with one of the girls, and convinced the other to send him phonographic videos through Snapchat.
Police later found out Winfree planned to use one of the girls to recruit more high school girls for him to exploit.
The United States filed a criminal complaint against Winfree on Jan. 23, 2023. He was arrested the next day.
“While the harm Mr. Winfree is alleged to have inflicted on these victims cannot be undone, the charges announced are a first step towards getting justice for the brave young women who came forward to tell their stories,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “More young women would have undoubtedly been victimized but for the hard work of the FBI and the East Lansing Police Department. We remain committed to working with our partners to pursue those who seek to harm members of our community.”
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
