A Marshfield man is facing multiple charges after allegedly trafficking an autistic woman last month.
According to the criminal complaint, a Greenfield Police Department detective spoke with a Humboldt County Sheriff Deputy who said they were working with the victim, an 18-year-old woman. The complaint said the woman is diagnosed with autism and operates at a third-grade cognition level. The victim is easily manipulated, has trouble identifying danger and has poor decision making skills.
The complaint also said she is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, schizoaffective disorder, ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, disruptive mood disorder and attachment disorder.
The woman was living in an inpatient mental health facility in Madison. According to the complaint, on Dec. 16, the victim checked herself out against medical advice. The sheriff’s office said she has no ability to take care of herself and the deputy was concerned.
The woman told someone that she was at the Golden Key motel with someone named Brian, according to the complaint. She would not say what room she was in and the person she was speaking with heard a voice in the background.
A friend of the victim called Greenfield police. That person also provided the last name of Brian, but the complaint did not say how they knew his last name. Detectives were able to find that 37-year-old Brian Matt had a non-felony warrant in Ozaukee County, according to the complaint.
A detective arrived at the motel with a picture of Matt and the clerk told the detective which room he was staying and also mentioned that he rented it under a different name to avoid being detected.
WARNING: Some may find the following details from the complaint to be graphic.
The victim told the detective in an interview that she met Matt at the inpatient facility, the complaint said. She left the facility to be with him. He sent an Uber for her for that day. Matt told her that she owed him for the Uber and had to repay him by allowing him to perform sexual acts on her. She told the detective that Matt purchased clothing and snacks for her from Meijer and this made her think he was nice.
The next morning, Matt was questioning the victim on why she was acting the way she was and why she didn’t comprehend things. She later explained her autism to him. He told her that he understood because his son also had autism, the complaint said.
Later that day, Matt left the room as an unidentified man entered. Before this, Matt had a conversation on the phone with the man, the complaint said. This was over the speaker and the victim could hear the conversation. She overheard the unidentified man talk about teaching the victim how to have sex. The unidentified man eventually sexually assaulted the woman.
The criminal complaint states that the victim isn’t able to consent to sex because of her mental health diagnosis.
When Matt returned to the room, he spoke about a CashApp transaction and showed her a transaction for $1,200. Afterward, Matt told her that she would no longer be coming with him to Green Bay as planned, the complaint said. Matt told her she was going to live with the unidentified man at his brother’s house somewhere in Milwaukee.
The complaint also states that Matt sexually assaulted her multiple times as she said no to sex, but he did not listen.
The victim said the night of Dec. 17, she thought about calling or texting the detective she worked with previously, but she said she “could not get away from [Matt].” She said every time she tried to walk out of the motel room, Matt would quickly follow and there wouldn’t be enough time to go somewhere safe, the complaint said.
The complaint also said Matt made her snort cocaine.
When Greenfield police went to arrest Matt, he was making statements about “suicide by cop” and that he had a weapon, according to the complaint. Matt eventually surrendered and exited the motel. There were concerns that he had taken around 100 gabapentin pills. He was slowly becoming unconscious and was taken to a hospital. 8.13 grams of methamphetamine pills were found inside the motel room.
Matt is facing two charges of second-degree sexual assault and one count of human trafficking.
