LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Moises May was found guilty Thursday afternoon of forcing his ex-girlfriend, Jonna 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 Jefferson County Circuit Court jury deliberated about three hours before finding May guilty of five counts of human trafficking, kidnapping and harassment with physical contact, among other charges.
After a three-day trial, the jury recommended a 35-year prison sentence. He will be formally sentenced on July 2.
May didn't show any emotion during the verdict. Several deputies were in the courtroom for the verdict.
Earlier in the day, the defense claimed the evidence relied largely on Wilson's "shaky, vague" and inconsistent testimony which is "broken to its core," according to defense attorney Anastasia McKettrick.
McKettrick also said some of the actions alleged against May were consensual between the former couple. For example, she said Wilson, who has admittedly been in jail and struggled with drugs, consensually had sex with men for money and agreed to have her hair cut with a machete because she lost a bet over checkers with May.
As far as May chaining Wilson up, the defense claims that it was a part of a contract the couple agreed to if she would not go to rehab for drug issues.
"If that's the intention, it's not the intention to terrorize," McKettrick said
This image taken from body camera footage provided by the Louisville Metro Police Department shows officers and firefighters rescuing Jonna Wilson on Aug. 16, 2023.
Videos shown to jurors of Wilson having sex with the men, taken from what looks like a hole in the room, do not prove May forced her to do it for money, she added, arguing the prosecution has not built a strong enough case for a conviction.
"Don't build a prison cell for Mr. May that they have not constructed," McKettrick told jurors.
But Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Max Gosman told jurors that while Wilson's memory was "fuzzy" on the stand, she recalled the important moments of those two months in July and August 2023. He pointed out to the jury Wilson's home had a huge fence, windows bolted shut, doors boarded and locked from the inside and out.
"He made that house impenetrable," Gosman said. "What would require this level of protection, of security? They weren't intended to keep intruders out. They were meant to keep Jonna in."
Gosman also questioned the credibility of May's statements to police.
"We're expected to believe she consented to chain herself up by the neck like a dog?" he asked jurors.
Wilson was chained 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.
One of the first officers on the scene testified Wednesday 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.
"Thank you so much," Wilson told officers repeatedly.
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 has said May had screwed every door shut, bolted every window and had the key to get inside and outside.
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."
Jonna Wilson spoke on Aug. 17, 2023, outside of a home where she was chained up and Louisville police and firefighters rescued her. (WDRB photo)
She said she was chained up for about five hours.
Wilson used to share the home where she was found with May, her estranged boyfriend.
Wilson said she had gone to the house to help him clean after he asked.
"I was gone for four days, I saw him on his bike," she said. "He said, 'Will you please come over and clean the house, I'll pay you, that's all I want.'"
Wilson testified she agreed to go so she could get her belongings. Then May took her upstairs and chained her to the floor threatening to kill her when he returned from an errand.
This story will be updated.
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