traffickers
© St. Petersburg Police Department
St. Petersburg police say that, over 11 months in a filthy mobile home, the boy was introduced to sadomasochism and used as a sex slave.

St. Petersburg police say a 16-year-old Marion County boy and another teen have been rescued from a den of human traffickers and sex abusers.

Six men and a woman were arrested this week on human trafficking and interference with child custody charges, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. Four of the men also face charges of sexual battery on a child under 16.

The announcement of their arrests Monday followed an eight-month investigation into human trafficking of teenage victims. Police say the suspects used an online gaming app to lure teenagers.

The investigation began May 9 when a Louisiana law enforcement agency contacted St. Petersburg police about a missing 17-year-old boy at a mobile home at 4000 24th St. in North St. Petersburg. Investigators believe the teenage boy was lured through an online gaming app call Discord, which allows users to communicate with each other. St. Petersburg officials said the app was used to coordinate picking up the boy and driving him to their area.

Officers found that missing teen as well as a 16-year-old Marion County boy. They were living in the same mobile home as four men: Mark Earl Dennis, Andrew Barry Dennis, Curtis Lee Gruwell and Michael Wayne Schwartz. Police say Dennis falsely claimed to be the Marion County boy's father, but had no documentation.

Eleven months earlier, police said, family acquaintance Eleanor Faye McGlamory had befriended the boy and introduced him to Mark Dennis and Andrew Dennis, who lived in St. Petersburg.

"In May 2017, the teen's mother found a note from her son saying not to look for him," St. Petersburg police said in a post on Facebook.

"While the 15-year-old teen was lured with the promise of a better life, instead he was moved into a filthy trailer and lived with four men. 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," the post states.

The boy did not go to school or receive medical care.

"Today the victim is receiving specialized trauma-informed care designed for victims of human trafficking and is thriving," the Facebook post states.

Several of the suspects later moved to Lehigh Acres in Lee County. Six of the suspects were arrested on Monday, and the final one turned himself in on Tuesday morning.

Here are the suspects and their charges:

- Mark Earl Dennis, 52, of 1617 Moore Ave., Lehigh Acres: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking, interference with custody and sexual battery (with a child under age 16).

- Andrew Barry Dennis, 42, of 1617 Moore Ave., Lehigh Acres: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking, interference with custody and sexual battery (with a child under age 16).

- Curtis Lee Gruwell, 34, of 1617 Moore Ave., Lehigh Acres: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking and interference with custody.

- Michael Wayne Schwartz, 51, of 1617 Moore Ave., Lehigh Acres: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking and interference with custody.

- Michael Ray Blasdel, 36, of 4428 Fourth Ave. South, St. Petersburg: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking, interference with custody, transmission of material harmful to minors to a minor, and two counts of sexual battery (with a child under age 16).

- JR Gauthier, 29, of 4428 Fourth Ave. South, St. Petersburg: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking, interference with custody and sexual battery (with a child under age 16).

- Eleanor Faye McGlamory, 56, of 535 NE 170th Court, Silver Springs: Conspiracy to commit human trafficking and interference with custody.

McGlamory was arrested by a Marion County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Marion County Jail officials said Tuesday that McGlamory declined a Star-Banner request for an interview. Officials said that if she does not post bond, authorities from St. Petersburg will transfer her from the Ocala jail to their facility.

A spokesperson at the Office of the Attorney General Office told the Star-Banner that the affidavits for those who were arrested are under seal and are exempt from public disclosure.

"The teenage victim in this case was lured away from his family with promises of a better life," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a news release. "Instead, he was moved into a filthy trailer and used as a slave for nearly a year. As a mother, I cannot even begin to express how disturbing the facts of this case are to me."

St. Petersburg officials said the investigation is ongoing and and that they have more interviews to do as they work to learn if anyone else might have been involved or if any other children were being abused or used for trafficking.