LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for chaining a woman to the floor of a home near the Park neighborhood in 2023.
Moises May was convicted on May 1 of forcing his ex-girlfriend, Joanna Wilson, to have sex for money with several men, cutting her hair with a machete after an argument and eventually chaining her to the floor of his home in 2023.
A jury found him guilty of five counts of human trafficking, kidnapping and harassment with physical contact, among other charges.
During his sentencing Wednesday, the prosecution called May's actions a "calculated and terrifying crime."
Wilson did not attend the sentencing. Defense attorneys declined to comment.
May must serve 20% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
This is the first time a defendant in Jefferson County has been convicted by a jury under Kentucky's new human trafficking criminal statute.
It's also the first time a defendant in Jefferson County has been sentenced for the crime following a jury verdict. This is the second time in Kentucky that a defendant has been convicted by a jury of human trafficking and sentenced.
May was accused of chaining Wilson by the neck inside a home with no running water or access to food until she was able to kick out a window and scream for help. A neighbor called 911. The doors and the windows in the home were barricaded shut.
In April, one of the first officers on the scene testified that Wilson had a padlock chained around her neck and bolted to the ground. He had to use an axe to break her free.
In addition, police couldn't get back out of the home after entering through the window as the doors were barricaded. Firefighters had to use a battering ram to get inside the home near the Park Hill and Algonquin neighborhoods off Dixie Highway.
In body camera footage shown to the jury, Wilson, crying and hyperventilating, tried to lead police around the home, telling them you had to have a key to get out.
"He never let me in there," she said as they passed one room with a padlock on the door.
Wilson previously told WDRB News that May, whom she shares a child with, cut her hair off with a machete, made her strip naked and put a chain around her neck, telling her he was going to kill her when he got back to the house they once shared.
She was rescued by police and firefighters Aug. 16, 2023, after a frantic 911 call from a neighbor.
Wilson told WDRB about the day she was freed: "I said, 'This is my only time, if I didn't get free now, I'll be dead. He made me strip naked, he put the chain around my neck, he called his friend and said, 'I've got to take this equipment back to Lowe's. When I come back, I'm going to kill you.' I only had a few minutes to get out."
She said she was chained up for about five hours.
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