WASHINGTON – A River Falls man was federally indicted Thursday, Jan. 19 in the Western District of Wisconsin for one count of labor trafficking.

According to the indictment, between August 2020 and Aug. 5, 2022, Austin Koeckeritz, 29, River Falls, used force, threats of force and coercion, to cause an adult woman to engage in forced labor for nearly two years.

The charge of forced labor carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin Timothy M. O’Shea and Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Hensle of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Milwaukee Field Office and the River Falls Police Department conducted the investigation. The Pierce County District Attorney’s Office provided assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus for the Western District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorneys Slava Kuperstein and Julie Pfluger of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.

According to the Pierce County complaint: On Aug. 3, a complainant reported his friend had been involved in a domestic abuse incident at 626 Hazel St. The friend told the complainant Koeckeritz had dumped hot grease down her back and she was afraid to contact police. She and Koeckeritz lived together at 626 Hazel St. and were in a relationship.

When police spoke to the woman, she was fearful of retaliation but said Koeckeritz was sleeping inside the house. She detailed a nightmarish history of the past two years in which she had been forced to perform sexual acts for hours at a time on livestream pornographic websites.

She told police she had started dating Koeckeritz two years ago after meeting him on a dating website and moved in with him three to four months into their relationship. Koeckeritz forced her into sex work, where he streamed her on four different platforms. Once she started making good money, he forced her to sign a contract to make it a “business” called The Boring Company.

She wasn’t allowed freedom and was kept in a room to livestream sex acts. If she skipped a day, Koeckeritz would force her to work longer hours. He also asked her to recruit girls from the nearby UW-River Falls campus, but she never did so. He isolated her from her friends and family and threatened to shoot them if they came to rescue her.

The survivor had provided a family member and friend with evidence to give police, which they did. It included photos, links and videos. In one text message, Koeckeritz told the survivor when she asked for a shower: “Really need to stop this, meals exercise and all other routines are coordinated around a schedule and you getting off this early keeps screwing everything.” He also had plans to get a juvenile sister involved in his “business,” pursuing more “adult-themed TikTok/ furry stuff.” At one point, the survivor said the sister sexually assaulted her while she was tied up after which Koeckeritz raped her. He also forced both females to do a nude photo shoot.

The survivor told officers she had made over $100,000 but never saw the money as Koeckeritz put it in his bank accounts. He convinced her she would be alone if she ever left him.

The complaint goes on to detail multiple accounts of domestic abuse, sexual violence, rape and torture. When police spoke to Koeckeritz, he said they were in a “happy relationship” and that his girlfriend was a porn star. He admitted to running the business and keeping loaded weapons in the house, but denied physically harming her or holding her against her will.

All Pierce County charges were dismissed Jan. 23 due to the federal indictment.

The FBI is asking anyone with information about Austin Koeckeritz to contact the FBI Milwaukee Field Office at (414) 276-4684. If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.