John Jefferson
Inset: Russell “Bruce” Moncrief (Seminole County Jail). Background: Moncrief Bail Bonds in Orlando, Florida (Google Maps).
A Florida bail bondsman is behind bars after authorities say they uncovered a yearslong scheme where he would pay to get women out of jail in exchange for sex.
Russell “Bruce” Moncrief, 75, of Moncrief Bail Bonds is facing charges of racketeering and human trafficking, according to the Central Florida based Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI). The investigation began in 2021 when victims of a local attorney busted for human trafficking, John Gillespie, told authorities about Moncrief’s actions. One victim said Moncrief paid her bail and the two went to Gillespie’s home where they had sex, a 178-page probable cause arrest affidavit said.
A former inmate told investigators how women in the Orange, Osceola and Brevard county jails talked about Moncrief bonding them out for “sexual favors.” It was so well known that the women would use certain phrases with Moncrief such as “I’ll wash your car” or “I’ll clean your house” that was code for them offering sex to him, the affidavit said.
Almost all of the women were vulnerable — and Moncrief took advantage of that, detectives allege.
“I just want to get out,” one victim said. “I’ll wash your car, I’ll lick your eyebrows, I’ll do whatever favors you need me to do,” one said, according to the affidavit.
Many of the women were addicted to drugs or involved in prostitution, cops wrote. Moncrief allegedly would pay their bail and then take them to one of his homes or offices where they would have sex. If the women refused, Moncrief would have their bond revoked, cops say.
“The majority of the phone calls he receives from inmates are females desperate to get out of jail,” cops wrote. “The female inmates tell him they are willing to do anything or beg him for help. Although these female inmates clearly do not have the required 10% collateral for the bond, Russell Moncrief entertains them and agrees to bond them out. When a male inmate calls him … Russell Moncrief disregards them and tells him to call his office.”
Per the affidavit, law enforcement was first alerted to Moncrief’s alleged crimes as far back as 2011. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) received a tip from a fellow bondsman who said he heard from clients that Moncrief would “loiter in the parking lot of the Orange County Jail and solicit females for oral sex in exchange for bonds,” the affidavit said. The tipster further stated that the activity had been going on “for years.” FDLE forwarded the complaint to the “Department of Insurance” for further investigation. It’s not clear what became of that investigation.
This case is being prosecuted by the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
“The defendant used his position as a bail bondsman to prey on women in the criminal justice system. After bailing his victims out of jail, he continued to use his power over them to sell the women for sex to others for his own financial gain. Working with MBI, we uncovered this sickening scheme, and we will prosecute the defendant on human trafficking and racketeering charges,” Florida AG Ashley Moody said in a statement.
Agents raided Moncrief’s offices in Orange, Brevard and Osceola counties over the summer. They also tapped his phone and conducted surveillance on him, the affidavit said. Cops arrested him Tuesday and took him to the Seminole County Jail where he remains without bond.
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