Milwaukee human trafficking case, man accused pleads not guilty
Austin Chronister in court on March 14, 2025
MILWAUKEE - A former high-end Milwaukee real estate broker charged with human trafficking, sexual assault and false imprisonment formally pleaded not guilty on Thursday, April 10.
The backstory:
Prosecutors said 38-year-old Austin Chronister kept women in his home, assaulted them, forced them to have sex against their will and made them change their last names.
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According to a criminal complaint, Chronister would throw BDSM parties at his State Street home where one woman described an alleged sex dungeon in the basement.
Court records show Chronister was bound over for trial in March and later posted $45,000 bond.
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Last week, 38-year-old Austin Chronister appeared in court, charged with sexual assault and false imprisonment. Prosecutors say these crimes date back years.
Dig deeper:
The case revolves around two women who said they moved into Chronister's home in 2017. Rules included sex on demand and being collared at all times. Both women said they were brutally sexually assaulted by Chronister and felt they could not leave.
One woman said Chronister would throw BDSM parties for "family and friends." The women said they were required to sign a contract that included "obedience and deference…honesty…collar and sexual play." It also required the women to change their last names to Saint Pierre as visitors to House Saint Pierre, as the home was known. The visitors were showed around the house by another woman who is named in the complaint.
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That woman, Christin Saint Pierre, is named in the complaint filed against Chronister but is not charged in the case. A criminal defense attorney, records show Saint Pierre owns the home along with Chronister. She was briefly an assistant district attorney and former Milwaukee 911 emergency operator.
The complaint said Saint Pierre also had a collar and would control the mail. It said she kept one woman's birth certificate and Social Security card in a safe.
The Source: Information in this report is from the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.