Redford Woman Takes Plea, Won't Serve Jail Time For Sex Trafficking
ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - A Redford woman accused of running a prostitution ring in Ann Arbor has accepted a plea deal.
Amy Sawulski, 30, pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges, but had prostitution-related charges dropped.
Two women testified that Sawulski was the one who posted the ads for sex on the website Backpage.com and provided them with rides, cell phones and motel rooms.
MLive reports Sawulski admitted in court Wednesday that she provided false information to these young ladies to get them to work for her. When the judge asked if she knew one woman, Sawulski replied, "She was an employee for me...As an escort."
Sawulski, who remains free on a $25,000 cash/surety bond, is expected to get probation and won't have to spend any time in jail when she's sentenced next month.
The plea deal also calls for Sawulski to forfeit $13,000 she made as part of her escort service called First Class Fantasies. Authorities say she took half of the sex worker's earnings, which averaged to about $1,400 per day.
Gov. Rick Snyder last year signed into law new legislation aiming to crack down on human trafficking and help its victims.
The 21-bill package allows victims to clear their criminal records. Also under the law, minors suspected of prostitution are presumed to be victims, and "johns" soliciting sex from minors face stiffer criminal penalties.
One of the victims in this case said she was 17 years old when she started working for Sawulski.