Couple sentenced in trafficking involving disabled woman

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – A suburban Detroit couple has been sentenced after authorities say they hired out a woman with physical and mental disabilities for sex while forcing her to live in a shed.

Forty-year-old Michael Welch and 32-year-old Misty George of Macomb Township were charged in 2017 with human trafficking and prostitution-related counts. He was sentenced Thursday to five to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including human trafficking.

George pleaded no contest to human trafficking and had agreed to testify against Welch. She sentenced to five years of probation, with credit for more than a year in jail.

Authorities say they advertised the woman online while forcing her to live in a shed after she was unable to pay them rent. Relatives of the victim eventually contacted police.