Adriane Moen was a single mother, struggling financially, when, like countless other women, she met a man on a dating app and made a connection.
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But what she believed was a romantic relationship soon turned into something darker, according to court records, when the Chicago man she was involved with suggested she start using the website Backpage, which became known as an online hub for sex work until it was shut down by the FBI in 2018.
Soon, he became abusive, forcing her into continuous sex work and eventually taking up to 60% of what she earned, Moen, 49, alleged in a federal civil lawsuit filed in Illinois.
Last month, though, Moen won a $50 million judgment against her alleged sex trafficker in an unusual case that Moen hopes will help pave the way for other survivors of sex trafficking seeking restitution.
“I am basically just grateful that they heard my story and someone believed me and that I was able to finally get some justice,” Moen said in an email to the Tribune. “Honestly, it is justice. I may never get any payment from him but I still got justice in the federal court.”
In the court order, U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow called the ordeal Moen went through “among the most reprehensible possible.”
“The facts of this case are horrifying and Moen suffered significant harm,” Darrow wrote.
Federal and state law allow human trafficking survivors to pursue financial awards in civil courts against those responsible, though often the suits get filed against hotel chains or internet service providers, entities that present better opportunities for survivors and attorneys to collect settlements.
But Moen’s is a rare case of a survivor directly suing her alleged sex trafficker, her attorneys say, calling it the first of its kind in Illinois. And even if she can’t recoup all $50 million, she said, it’s gratifying to see a judge take her side after battling a system that targeted her, rather than her alleged trafficker, with prostitution arrests.
“It is a novel approach to try to find justice and accountability for a survivor who already was really failed by the criminal justice system,” said Elizabeth Payne, legal director of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.
Moen filed suit in 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois against a man identified in the record as John Woolridge, who she met on a dating app in 2012, the complaint said.
The Tribune could not reach Woolridge for comment. He did not respond to the complaint in court nor hire a lawyer to participate in the process. The court’s judgment notes that he was served via email and Instagram direct message.
He does not appear to have been charged criminally in connection with Moen’s case.
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What unfolded after Moen met Woolridge was a common path for sex trafficking victims: Vulnerable and in need of money, support and resources, Moen began talking to Woolridge every day until they agreed to meet, her complaint says. After they solidified a romantic relationship, he pressured her into sex work, “assuring her that it was the solution to her money problems and that he would protect her,” it said.
“Trafficking isn’t just being locked in a warehouse somewhere,” Moen told the Tribune in a statement. “It can happen with your partner. They see the money aspect and that’s all they want.”
Woolridge posted ads, set the price and then began demanding a percentage of what she earned, the complaint said. When she said she wanted to stop, he became hostile and abusive, it alleged.
Soon, the complaint said, she was forced to see dozens of men each week across multiple states and was subjected to abuse and sexual assault.
“Her hopes of a romantic relationship had descended into a personal hell,” the complaint said.
She was arrested for prostitution in 2013 and 2014, the complaint said.
Though she tried to leave him, she alleged, Woolridge controlled her with violence, threats and manipulation.
By 2015, though, Moen was able to escape the cycle and move in with her father. She estimated, according to the complaint, that she had handed over around $420,000 to Woolridge.
Moen first approached the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation for help expunging her prostitution arrests, Payne said, and the group eventually helped her file the lawsuit, along with the firm Chapman and Cutler LLP, which took the case pro bono. Payne noted that the man identified as Woolridge likely does not have $50 million, but she said the judgment will follow him for life, and she believes there are pathways for Moen to recoup something.
“It’s unbelievably powerful to be able to hear a judge not only agree that there should be liability here, but also for the very first time have a judge address what the harm of sex trafficking actually looks like,” Payne said.
Moen didn’t realize that what happened to her would be considered sex trafficking until she began going to therapy in 2020. Since then, she has become an advocate for other survivors.
“It’s important for other survivors to know it’s okay to come forward,” she said, via email. “Regardless of the situation, it’s okay to tell somebody.”
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