Women released from prison in exchange for sex with a subordinate used code words: affidavit

The supplier is accused of using his position to get women out of jail in exchange for sex, authorities said.

Russell “Bruce” Moncrief, 75, of Cocoa, Florida, has been charged with racketeering and human trafficking, state Attorney General Ashley Moody announced. press release on Tuesday, October 29

The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation alleges that Moncrief, owner of Moncrief Bail Bonds in Central Florida, used his position as a bail bondsman “to target female inmates in the Orange County Jail and others on prostitution and/or drug charges and offered victims bail in exchange for sex,” the prosecutor’s office reports.

Moncrief allegedly “surrendered inmates in exchange for sex,” the indictment said, adding, “The defendant even offered to bail out inmates in exchange for sex from someone outside the prison.” Prosecutors also alleged that Moncrief “sold the women he tied up to other buyers.”

According to affidavits reviewed by PEOPLE, the women alleged that Moncrief used code words, including one instance in which the inmate was allegedly told to call him and say she was going to “wash his car and lick his eyebrows” to get out of jail

According to the affidavit, one woman who called Moncrief claimed he bailed her out, picked her up from jail — and in exchange gave him sex in his car.

In addition, Moncrief “used threats to cancel, terminate, or violate” their bond “as a form of force, fraud or coercion,” Moody alleged in the release, adding that “the defendant used his bond position to abuse the women.” in the criminal justice system”.

“After his victims were released from prison on bail, he continued to use his power over them to sell women for sex to others for his own financial gain. Working with MBI, we uncovered this heinous scheme, and we will prosecute the defendant on human trafficking and racketeering charges,” Moody continued, according to the release.

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According to Florida todayThe MBI began investigating Moncrief in October 2021 following the April 2020 arrest of former defense attorney John Gillespie on human trafficking charges. However, he was found incompetent after pleading not guilty, according to Orange County court documents.

“Gillespie’s victims also allegedly engaged in sexual acts with Moncrief,” prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Moncrief was arrested by the Orange County Fugitive Unit and is being held without bail.

According to the prosecutor’s office, he is “accused of three counts of human trafficking for the purpose of commercial sexual activity, one count of racketeering and one count of illegal use of two-way communication devices to facilitate the commission of a serious crime. In total, Moncrief faces four first-degree felony counts and one third-degree felony count.”

If convicted, he faces up to 125 years in prison, according to the release, which said Mary Sammon is prosecuting the case.

As of Thursday, Oct. 31, it was unclear if Moncrief had hired an attorney to represent him.