A Chicago madam who ran a West Side fetish business that hosted risque parties labeled “Halloween Mischief” and “Black Tie Bizarre” was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation with the first nine months to be served in home detention.
Jessica Nesbitt 35, who also goes by the name “Madame Priscilla Belle,” admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that she raked in more than $1 million in payments from clients for sexual services over seven years through her business, Kink Extraordinaire.
Nesbitt’s attorneys said she had a black book with more than 9,000 clients, including many from Chicago professional circles, including lawyers, government employees and police officers. But while portions of her business were admittedly illegal, they said Nesbitt ran a clean operation and that all of her employees and patrons were consenting adults. She also paid taxes on all her income.
“It’s the world oldest profession. It’s not like she invented it,” her attorney Barry Sheppard said in asking for probation. “She tried her best to run an honest business. She didn’t cheat a soul.”
Prosecutors asked for more than two years in prison, saying that by running her illegal business, Nesbitt put employees in harm’s way because they could not go to the authorities if things went bad. At least one employee told law enforcement she was injured after a customer exceeded boundaries during a sexual liaison in a hotel room, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika Csicsila said.
“These women were put in a vulnerable position with limited options to report when things went wrong,” Csicsila said. “And they did go wrong.”
In declining to send Nesbitt to prison, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly said that unlike other federal sex cases, there was no alleged trafficking of victims on Nesbitt’s part. He also said he had concerns about causing further harm to Nesbitt’s teenage son, who has special needs.
“I am concerned about the sentence that’s being talked about here would create a risk of further harm to other people who aren’t before me and didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Kennelly said.
The judge did note, however, that it was Nesbitt who put her son at risk by engaging in illegal activity in the first place.
“It ought to eat at you because that’s what you did,” Kennelly said.
Before the sentence was handed down, Nesbitt, dressed in a black blazer and skirt, stood at the lectern and read a short statement saying she takes “full responsibility” for her actions.
“I got into an alternative lifestyle at a very young age and it turned into my primary way of making a living,” she said, reading from prepared notes. “I was not trying to hurt anyone. … I am now aware of harmful effects of prostitution and the seriousness of this offense.”
Nesbitt, who has been free on bond since 2019, declined to comment as she left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after the hearing.
The sentencing marks the end of a case that had initially been set for trial later this year — which certainly no one on her lengthy list of clients wanted to see.
Sheppard had previously said in court filings that Nesbitt’s client roster included many people in “positions of prestige in the community, including in law enforcement and government,” though he did not offer names.
Nesbitt was charged in a 13-count indictment unsealed in September 2019 with prostitution, conspiracy to commit prostitution and illegally structuring bank withdrawals to evade reporting requirements.
According to her plea agreement, from 2010 to 2017 Nesbitt placed ads on websites offering paid sex with her and at least five employees. She also emailed invitations to her clients for sex and fetish parties.
Some of the acts of prostitution were carried out in Nesbitt’s condominium building in the 2400 block of West Augusta Boulevard. Nesbitt also arranged for her and her employees to perform sex acts in California, Washington, D.C., Florida, Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin, according to the plea document.
Nesbitt herself charged clients from $300 to $1,000 for sex acts, depending on what was performed, according to prosecutors.
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In addition to the probation term, Nesbitt was required to pay $194,600 in forfeiture to the U.S. marshals office. A lien on her condo building has since been lifted.
Real estate records with the Cook County recorder of deeds’ office show Nesbitt bought the first-floor duplex for $370,000 in 2009 when she was just 21. She purchased the top-floor unit in 2015 for an additional $356,000, the records show.
At the time Nesbitt was indicted, an ad visible on the site Gentlemen’s Pages showed the rooms in the building had been outfitted with different themes, including a dungeonlike room and a classroom “great for student/teacher role plays.”
Nesbitt also advertised on social media. “Follow us for day-to-day open kinky fun at our play space, birthday spankings, stories of erotica, holiday spice, and exclusive play party updates,” read one Twitter post from 2018.
In the lobby of the courthouse, Sheppard told reporters that the judge made the right decision and exercised duly deserved compassion” in sparing Nesbitt from prison. Asked how the case landed in federal court in the first place, Sheppard smiled.
“Sex sells, guys,” he said.
