Human trafficking trial to start in Lorain County Common Pleas Court

The trial of an Elyria man accused of trafficking numerous women into prostitution using drugs and violence starts in Lorain County Common Pleas Court today. A jury of 11 women and three men will hear evidence against Steven Gilbert, 36, who is facing more than 50 felony charges including multiple counts of rape, kidnapping, sexual battery, human trafficking, compelling and promoting prostitution, racketeering and money laundering The case is being tried in Judge James Miraldi's courtroom. Jury selection by the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office and defense attorney Steve Albenze took all day Monday. Gilbert has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was being held on $2.5 million bond in the Lorain County Jail, while also serving time in prison on a prior felony drug trafficking conviction. Earlier this month, Gilbert rejected two plea options presented by prosecutors. With only a week to go before trial, he told Miraldi he wanted to replace Albenze and represent himself at trial. Miraldi denied the request following a hearing on April 10. "Court finds that (defendant's) request to represent himself is not clear and unequivocal," Miraldi ruled, according to an entry in the court docket. "It is also manipulative and untimely." Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson announced in November 2021 that Gilbert had been arrested following a lengthy investigation by his office, the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, the Lorain County Drug Task Force, Elyria Police Department and the Cuyahoga Regional Human Trafficking Task Force. Gilbert is accused of trafficking nine women, turning them to a life of forced prostitution and addiction. In one case Tomlinson talked about at a news conference in November 2021 announcing Gilbert's arrest, one of Gilbert's alleged victims was trying to get out from under his control. She did so by filing rape charges against him, setting off the investigation. Investigators identified area motels that allegedly cooperated with human traffickers between January 2017 and October 2021. Prosecutors say Gilbert recruited women who were addicted to illegal drugs, set them up in motel rooms he rented, and forced them to see customers or "johns." The women were required to pay Gilbert for the rooms and also to give the money they earned to him as well as to buy drugs from him, according to the prosecutor's office. Known to carry guns, Gilbert withheld drugs from the women, and threatened and assaulted them if they refused to do what he said, according to the prosecutor's office. Gilbert also incorporated a business, All Is Truly Well, to launder money he made off the prostitution scheme, according to prosecutors and his indictment. The business purported to "help people afford transportation and offer good rates on giving rides," according to documents Gilbert filed with the secretary of state's office in November 2020. A convicted drug dealer, Gilbert is currently serving a decadelong prison sentence in the Lake Erie Correctional Institution. He pleaded guilty to felony cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin trafficking charges, possession of cocaine, possession of fentanyl, having weapons under disability, and possession of criminal tools in Common Pleas Court in June 2022. Miraldi sentenced Gilbert to 10 to 15 years in prison. Gilbert also forfeited two cars, two guns, two bank accounts, a CashApp account and $21,000 cash as part of his sentence, according to court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.