Couple charged in abduction, rape of Detroit woman

By Erin McClary
C & G Staff Writer

Michael Ventrella

Jamie Ventrella

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP — Residents planting flowers and washing their cars on the quiet street of Roselawn witnessed an odd spectacle the afternoon of June 4 as a gagged and bound woman sprinted across their lawns toward Jefferson to escape the confinement of her alleged attackers.

Around noon, a 34-year-old Detroit woman emerged from a neighbors’ home after enduring what she told police was a night of assault.

One resident freed the woman’s hands as she called 911, reporting that the victim had been abducted and sexually accosted at a home down the street, said Chesterfield Detective Sgt. Deron Myers.

Upon further disclosure from the victim, who described herself as a prostitute, Myers found that she was a picked up by her abductors around midnight near Mack and Sylvester in Detroit. The woman was able to lead police back to the home where she’d spent the night against her will and described her attackers as the couple that lived there.

Chesterfield Township residents Michael Ventrella, 33, and his wife, Jamie Rae Ventrella, 21, were arrested and charged with kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and conspiracy to commit criminal sexual conduct. All three charges are punishable up to life in prison.

The couple, who lives in the 49200 block of Bayshore, was arraigned in New Baltimore’s 42-2 District Court. At press time, they remained jailed in lieu of $200,000 cash bonds.

“(The victim) willingly climbed into the semi-tractor they were driving,” Myers continued, “but then without warning, (she) was bound and forced into the rear sleeping area of the rig.” The couple then drove to their neighborhood near Jefferson and 23 Mile Road in Chesterfield Township.

The woman disclosed to police that she is a prostitute and that she’d seen Michael Ventrella before. Chesterfield police will not be issuing citations to the victim for soliciting sex acts, as “this wasn’t a complaint of prostitution,” Myers said.

According to the initial report, the woman was restrained and sexually assaulted by both suspects throughout the night.

“A search warrant was obtained for the home, and during a subsequent search, detectives seized evidence that was consistent with the woman’s account of her ordeal,” Myers added.

The couple was still sleeping when police arrived at their home, armed with a search warrant, the afternoon of June 4. Officers finally made contact with them through an open back door.

The victim sustained no serious or life threatening injuries, but doctors and nurses confirmed her claims of sexual assault.

“Mr. Ventrella had a criminal history with no remarkable convictions or anything of this nature,” Myers said. He believes this will be the first criminal charge against Jamie Ventrella.

 Michael Ventrella is an “on and off trucker for hire.” His wife was unemployed.

Their preliminary exam is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. June 11 in New Baltimore.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Erin McClary at emcclary@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1118.