Steven Gilbert guilty of 29 felonies following two-week human trafficking trial

A Lorain County jury took less than eight hours over two days Friday and Monday before finding Steven Gilbert guilty of nearly 30 felonies for trafficking numerous women into prostitution. The 36-year-old Elyria man shook his head as the verdicts were read by Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi on Monday. Gilbert was found guilty of 29 criminal charges as well as multiple firearms and human trafficking specifications by a jury of nine women and three men in what the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office said is the county's first-ever human trafficking trial. Gilbert was found guilty of seven counts of trafficking in persons, three counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of rape, three counts of kidnapping, one count of aggravated robbery, five counts of compelling prostitution, one count of sexual battery, two counts of money laundering and five counts of promoting prostitution. Most of the charges carried firearms and/or human trafficking specifications or forfeiture specifications that will force Gilbert to give up to the state the proceeds or tools of his crimes. The jury found Gilbert not guilty of five felony charges, including two counts of rape and one count each of trafficking in persons, compelling prostitution, and promoting prostitution, along with related specifications. Miraldi, who oversaw the two-week-long trial, also found Gilbert guilty of two counts of having weapons under disability — that is, being a convicted felon in possession of firearms in violation of the law. Before dismissing them from service, Miraldi told jurors they had "as important a case as ever has been heard in this courtroom." "It was a daunting task" that they handled appropriately and their verdicts showed "thoughtful deliberations," he told them. Miraldi scheduled sentencing for May 11. He also will decide at sentencing whether Gilbert will be labeled a "sexually violent predator" under the law. If that happens, Gilbert could face life in prison in addition to the sentences he faces on the charges he faced at trial, according to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office. Seventeen criminal charges in Gilbert's 2021 criminal indictment were dismissed by the prosecutor's office midtrial as several of Gilbert's victims did not testify against him. Five victims did, relating how over the span of nearly four years, Gilbert got them hooked on heroin and crack cocaine, then forced them to stay in hotels in Lorain and Erie counties, selling themselves for sex in order to buy his drugs — and only his drugs. He paid for their hotel rooms, or lent them cars, but demanded repayment or reimbursement for the mileage they drove, the women testified. Two of Gilbert's ex-girlfriends — including one who testified that Gilbert forced her into prostitution and the other who testified he tried to persuade her to take up prostitution to help pay his bond following his arrest in July 2021 — told the jury that he was sexually abusive and violent. When the women didn't have the cash to pay Gilbert for drugs, he force them to perform sex acts on him in exchange, they testified. He also always carried guns and cared only about the money he was making. Much of the evidence against Gilbert was in the form of text messages he exchanged with one of his ex-girlfriends, as well as recorded jail calls he made and letters he sent to another following his arrest. At trial, prosecutors referred to Gilbert as a "pimp" and a "monster." Gilbert spent three years on probation and 10 years on the county's sexual offender registry after being convicted of felony unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Common Pleas Court in June 2006, according to court records. He has several other felony convictions on his record, including tampering with records, drug trafficking, drug possession and forgery. Following another drug trafficking conviction in Miraldi's courtroom in 2022, Gilbert is serving a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison. Gilbert remains in the Lorain County Jail until sentencing. Prosecutor: 'We will not tolerate it' Lorain County Assistant Prosecutors Matt Kern, Tom DeRoma and Mark Koza prosecuted the case based on the work of the Lorain County Drug Task Force, Lorain County Sheriff's Office and the Elyria Police Department, with the assistance of Detective John Morgan, commander of the Cuyahoga County Human Trafficking Task Force. Defense attorney Steve Albenze was appointed by the court to represent Gilbert. He didn't comment after the verdicts. In a news release Monday, Lorain County Prosecutor J.D. Tomlinson said Gilbert used "violence and manipulation to run a prostitution enterprise that trafficked and brutalized multiple female victims." "Steven Gilbert used a reign of violence and psychological terror to prey upon vulnerable women," Tomlinson said. "He committed the most unimaginable violations of human rights we've seen in Lorain County, and we will not tolerate it." He thanked the three assistant prosecutors who took the case to trial, as well as the victim advocates in his office and his investigators "for their diligent work in bringing Gilbert to justice." "This trial is a true testament to the collaborative environment between the prosecutor's office and police agencies. Our community and I have tremendous gratitude for the law enforcement officers involved in this investigation." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.