The feds say she ran the business described as “the premier Dungeon of Chicago” on the city’s West Side.
And using the moniker “Madame Priscilla Belle,” they say Jessica Nesbitt and her employees at Kink Extraordinaires collected millions of dollars not just from clients in Illinois, but in California, Florida, Wisconsin, Indiana, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
Now Nesbitt, 31, has been hit with several criminal charges alleging prostitution and financial crimes in a newly unsealed 23-page federal indictment. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez, according to Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Barry Sheppard, Nesbitt’s attorney, told the Chicago Sun-Times, “there’s absolutely no evidence, whatsoever, that my client engaged in any acts of prostitution. And contrary to the government’s position, she was totally unaware if there were acts of prostitution that occurred.”
“Fetish-based eroticism is not unlawful,” Sheppard said.
The Kink Extraordinaires website says it offers “beautiful, psychologically sophisticated Kinksters” who “play out of a private 5 floor Dungeon with multiple fully equipped themed rooms.” It brags that it is “10 minutes northwest of downtown Chicago” and has “free and convenient street parking.”
One Kink Extraordinaires ad brags of themed rooms such as the “Classroom,” “The Medical Room” and “The Gourmet Kitchen.” Another boasts of the “Sissy Room,” “The Roof,” and the “Man Cave,” which offers “complimentary scotch.”
The indictment says Nesbitt’s business, officially known as Selective Management Enterprises, Inc., was based in the 2400 block of West Augusta Boulevard.
It also alleges Nesbitt advertised on backpage.com, eros.com and Gentlemen’s Pages, and it says she emailed clients invitations to “paid sex and fetish” parties titled “Halloween Mischief” and “Black Tie Bizarre.”
The feds say Nesbitt also sent an email to a client sharing flight arrangements for one of her workers, and in one case specifically instructed one of her workers to have sexual intercourse with a client whenever that client paid for it.
Finally, Nesbitt allegedly deposited money into her bank accounts in amounts under $10,000 to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements, an illegal practice known as structuring.
Sheppard said Nesbitt, a single mother of a teenage son, spent two years running the business knowing she was under investigation. He said she didn’t try to hide any assets or flee. On Wednesday, she surrendered to the FBI.
“She deposited a lot of cash and paid taxes on it,” Sheppard said.
Valdez on Wednesday prohibited Nesbitt from engaging in “activities of a prurient nature” at her business, according to Fitzpatrick. The judge also ordered her not to contact current or former employees. Nesbitt is due back in court Oct. 15.
