A woman forced into performing sex shows online was able to connect with someone during one to help her escape from the man who had kept her captive for five years.
In a human trafficking case it calls “complicated” that stretches over a number of years, Unadilla Township Police on Friday, May 26, 2023, arrested Daryl Lanzon, 52, of Unadilla Township, on a felony warrant issued by the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office. Lanzon is charged with four counts of sexual assault, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder by strangulation, human trafficking, and using a computer to commit a crime. The charges come after an investigation that began in March 2022, when the Unadilla Township Police Department received a tip about possible human trafficking from the FBI.
Lanzon is currently being held on $1 million bond.
According to reports, Lanzon, originally from Alaska, befriended the woman on social media; when she was 17 or 18, he allegedly drove to another state to pick her up and they moved about before eventually settling in Unadilla Township. Police say Lanzon kept her isolated from her family and dependent on him as her only means of emotional and financial support. The victim was afraid to leave because of threats Lanzon made that he would harm her and her family. Lanzon is alleged to have manipulated the woman into performing sex shows online to raise funds to support them, and keeping all the proceeds for himself.
This went on for five years before the woman was able to escape in 2020.
Unadilla Township Police Chief David Russell said in a news report that during one of the forced sex shows online, the woman was able to indicate to someone that she was in trouble.
“She was able to connect with somebody who was willing to help her,” Russell said, “and she coordinated a time to be outside when this person would be outside, and she was able to sneak away … get in the car and flee the area.”
After another period of time, the woman was able to talk about her ordeal and called the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
A search warrant was executed at Lanzon’s residence by Unadilla Township Police, assisted by Pinckney Police, Michigan State Police Emergency Services Team, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center (MIOC) on an unrelated weapons charge, during which multiple weapons, computers, cameras and other related equipment were seized. Additional search warrants were obtained to examine the electronic devices.
In a statement, the Unadilla Township Police Department thanked investigator Ryan Hamlin for the work he did on the case, and said that while human trafficking is known to be part of the sex trade, it can include other kinds of forced labor.
“It is more common than people want to believe,” the statement read. “Nobody likes to think it can happen in their neighborhood or to their friends and family, but it can. Signs of human trafficking can include a person being disconnected from friends, family, school and social activities; pronounced changes in behavior; confusion; signs of mental or physical abuse; acting timid or submissive; being denied food, water or medication; deferring to someone who seems to control their activities and who they talk to; and a lack of personal possessions.”
If you suspect human trafficking, contact the police in your area, or contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at humantraffickinghotline.org or (888) 373-7888.
