COUPLE INDICTED FOR LURING VICTIMS INTO HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SERVITUDE

Posted on 4/17/2015

Defendant: Thomas Michael Williamson and Michelle Nicole Feldman

Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced today that the Franklin County Grand Jury has returned an indictment against Thomas Michael Williamson, age 32, and his fiancée Michelle Nicole Feldman, age 29, for one count of Trafficking in Persons (F-1), two counts of Extortion (F-3), three counts of Sexual Battery (F-3), two counts of Grand Theft (F-4), one count of Felonious Assault (F-2), and one count Theft (F-5), for a total of ten counts in connection to on-going abusive relationships involving three adult female victims.  The indictment alleges that the Human Trafficking and Extortion counts in the indictment involving multiple victims occurred over the time spans of April through August 2013, October 2013 through March 2015, and July 2014 through March 2015 at the couple’s home located at 1244 Whitebirch Court in Reynoldsburg.  It is alleged that the couple initially created a false identity online and started romantic relationships with each of the victims in order to lure them into controlled situations where the defendants could satisfy their own sexual, financial, and emotional needs.  O’Brien commended the Reynoldsburg Police Department and Human Trafficking Task Force for their thorough and continuing investigation of this case.  “If convicted on these charges, both defendants face a potential sentence in excess of forty year’s incarceration,” O’Brien stated.  Arraignment for both defendants is set for next Monday, April 20th, 2015 at 1:30 pm in courtroom 2B, at 345 S. High Street.