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A former bail bondsman has been convicted of human sexual trafficking for extorting female inmates into engaging in sexual conduct with him in exchange for bonding them out of jail.
Anthony Stout, 57, was convicted by a Marion Superior Court jury of five counts of promotion of human sexual trafficking, five counts of intimidation, two counts of failure of a bail agent to collect full premium, and one count of attempted promotion of human sexual trafficking, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday.
“The courage of the survivors to not only report these crimes but to share their testimony years later in court ensured that the defendant will never be able to take advantage of anyone again,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a written statement. “It takes the best sex crimes prosecutors and advocates to not only earn and maintain the trust of these survivors but present a case on their behalf for five straight days to secure this conviction.”
Stout was represented by Duepner Law LLC in Noblesville. His attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
From December 2017 through August 2023, Stout extorted several female inmates into engaging in sexual conduct with him in exchange for him bonding them out of jail, authorities said. If they refused, he would threaten to kill them or revoke their bonds, court documents say.
The allegations came to light in June 2023 after a former inmate came forward accusing Stout of threatening and exploiting her because he paid some of her bond. She said she felt like she had to engage sexually with him because she had no other choice, according to court documents.
The woman said the sexual acts happened at both the hotel she was staying at and at the bondsman’s office on Tibbs Avenue in Indianapolis.
During the police investigation, officers discovered another woman had reported similar claims against Stout in 2022. The woman told officers she believed Stout had a lot of pull, saying that Stout would call and tell her he was going to get her “put in segregation,” and within minutes, she would get put in lock down at the jail, according to court documents.
The woman also said Stout would collect partial bonds and pocket it for himself, revoking the bond, documents state.
Officers discovered that Stout’s phone number was involved in approximately 2,500 calls to the Marion County Jail, and that a Marion County Sheriff’s Department analyst had Stout on her radar since September 2022 because of how many jail calls he made and the inappropriate content that was discussed during the calls.
A couple of months into the investigation, officers received a call from a woman who said that in 2017, Stout had done similar things to her in Sullivan County, though he wasn’t a bail bondman at the time.
The woman said that Stout was a friend of a friend, and that once he bonded her out, he held the amount he paid over her head for sexual acts, court documents state.
Stout’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29. The sentencing range for his human trafficking charges is two to 12 years each. The maximum sentence for his intimidation and failing to collect full premium charges is two and a half years each.
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