East Lansing man pleads no contest to sexually exploiting au pairs, teen girls

An East Lansing man accused of kidnapping and sexually exploiting a teen has pleaded no contest in federal court to multiple charges, officials said.

Arisknight Arkin-Everett Winfree, 31, made the plea this week in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, in Grand Rapids. He had faced charges of kidnapping, coercing and enticing someone to travel for illegal sexual activity, attempted coercion and enticement, and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten said Wednesday.

A no-contest plea means a defendant did not want to plead guilty to charges but admits prosecutors have sufficient evidence to convict him.

Among the evidence prosecutors shared with Winfree and his attorney and would have presented at trial were the defendant's use of a website called AuPair.com to lure victims to his home and testimony from victims and a friend who had child pornography Winfree produced.

Winfree, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2023, faces up to life in prison.

His attorney was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Authorities said Winfree sexually assaulted a Kansas woman who visited him at home to interview as an au pair. They said he raped another victim at his home after she arrived from Italy.

Winfree told the same friend he shared the pornography with that he planned to kill the Italian woman and dispose of her body, investigators reported.

Furthermore, Winfrey coerced 16- and 17-year-old girls into sending him nude images of themselves via social media apps, officials said. He allegedly picked up the 17-year-old from school and recorded himself having sex with her.

"Winfree posed a danger to the whole world from his home here in West Michigan," Totten said in a statement.

In a related case, Paul Heiselman, 33, of Ann Arbor, was sentenced this week to 41 months in prison for possessing some of the child pornography Winfree produced, officials said.

Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, praised her agency and the East Lansing Police Department for their efforts in investigating Winfree.

“The collective investigative efforts of the FBI and East Lansing Police Department prevented Mr. Winfree from potentially victimizing countless other young women," she said in a statement. "This case is a stark reminder of the dangers and reach predators have through online methods, and how vigilant we must be while using the internet."

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez