Seven alleged human traffickers have been arrested by police in Florida after two missing teenagers were discovered inside a "filthy" mobile home.
St. Petersburg Police Department Chief Anthony Holloway announced the arrests of five men and one woman on Monday. A seventh suspect who remained at large turned himself in yesterday. It followed a months-long investigation into trafficking victims, the department said.
Read more: Florida man charged after "eating" police patrol car seat
The probe kicked into gear on May 9 last year after Louisiana deputies contacted Florida police. Intelligence suggested a missing 17-year-old boy from Louisiana was at a mobile home in the city of St. Petersburg. Police said he had been lured there via Discord, a gaming chat app.
When officers arrived at the scene they found the teen and another boy, 16. They were in the trailer with adults Mark Dennis, Andrew Dennis, Curtis Gruwell, and Michael Schwartz. Two additional suspects were later named as Michael Blasdel and JR Gauthier.
Initially, Mark Dennis claimed to be the younger child's biological father—but had no papers to prove the relation. As a result, both teenagers were taken from the home. Police determined that the 16-year-old was not related to the man. In fact, he was missing from Marion County.
Investigators allege that almost a year before he was found, family acquaintance Eleanor Faye McGlamory had "befriended the boy and introduced him to Mark Dennis and Andrew Dennis." The child, then 15-years-old, had been promised a better life but was instead moved into the "filthy trailer."
In May 2017, the teenager's mother found a note from her son saying not to look for him. "For the next year, he was introduced to sadomasochism and used as a sex slave by Mark and Andrew Dennis, Gruwell, Schwartz, and their associates Michael Ray Blasdel and JR Gauthier," police said, adding: "He did not attend school or receive medical care."
After police made contact in May 2018, four male suspects moved from the St. Petersburg mobile home to Lee County. The child is now receiving "specialized trauma-informed care" designed for human trafficking victims, officials said. He is allegedly now "thriving."
The St. Petersburg Police Department posted mugshots of the seven suspects online. The outcome of the case was announced alongside Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
Charges included conspiracy to commit human trafficking, interference with custody, sexual battery with a child under 16 and transmission of material harmful to a minor.
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