Cops: Sterling Heights man prostituted woman he forced drugs on 'to service more customers'
Jacob Michael Nelson
FOX 2 - A Sterling Heights man has been charged with human trafficking by the Oakland County Prosecutor's office Wednesday.
Jacob Michael Nelson is accused of conducting a human trafficking enterprise, accepting earnings from prostitution, and transporting a person for purposes of prostitution.
Nelson, 39, is accused of forcing his victim to have sex for money with customers he solicited online. The victim was reportedly made to take Adderall and methamphetamine to service more customers.
If she refused sex work, she was allegedly beaten by Nelson as punishment.
This is the 34th human trafficking case charged by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office since organizing a human trafficking training with local law enforcement in November 2024 and the 73rd since the Prosecutor’s Office formed a Human Trafficking unit in 2021.
Prior to forming the trafficking unit, just five such cases had been charged in the previous nine years.
"Human trafficking festered for too long in our communities," said Prosecutor McDonald. "From my first day in office, we’ve made battling trafficking a priority. The results are clear: traffickers are being held accountable in Oakland County, and victims are getting help to escape cycles of abuse and manipulation."
Human trafficking enterprise is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Prostitution accepting earnings is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prostitution/transporting person is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The Source: Information for this report is from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office.