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Van Buren man arrested on human trafficking charges

GRANT COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — A Van Buren man was arrested Friday morning following a disturbance call where two women were found barricaded in a room.

According to a press release from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Gregory Michael Marsh, a 59-year-old from Van Buren, was arrested after officers responded to a disturbance call early Friday morning.

Deputies responded to a disturbance call in the 400 block of West Main Street and after arriving on scene found two women had barricaded themselves inside a room out of fear. After deputies were able to rescue the victims, officers determined that the women were afraid of being injured and deported from the United States by Marsh, as he had been using this as a tactic to control them. Marsh had sponsored the two women’s work VISAs from Venezuela from April of 2023, after meeting one online.

Deputies on the scene were able to recognize signs of human trafficking based on statements given by the victims. They were then assisted by a detective to obtain a warrant for the arrest of Marsh on the preliminary charges of:

Domestic Battery, a class A Misdemeanor Criminal Confinement, a Level 3 Felony Voyeurism, a Level 6 Felony Promotion of Human Sexual Trafficking, a Level 4 Felony

Gregory Michael Marsh was taken to Grant County jail.

Sheriff Del Garcia, with Grant County Sheriff’s Department, would like to commend the Deputies for their attention to detail in the earlier stages of the call and the investigation.