DANBURY, Conn. (AP) - Two Connecticut men were arrested Thursday in connection with a Danbury-based human trafficking ring that police say exploited young men with mental health issues, delivering them to wealthy clients to have sex for money.
Danbury Police and the New Haven office of the FBI said they believe the ring may have been operating for decades.
Authorities arrested 63-year-old Bruce Bemer of Glastonbury and 71-year-old William Trefzger of Westport, charging them each with patronizing a trafficked person. Both were being held on $500,000 bonds.
Bemer owns the New London-Waterford Speedbowl and Bemer Petroleum Corporation in Glastonbury. The Hartford Courant (https://cour.at/2nPMXEV) reports he admitted to investigators in court documents that he’s been paying “boys” for sex for 20-to-25 years. A call to his home went unanswered.
No phone number was listed for Trefzger.
Hearst Connecticut Media (https://bit.ly/2ogk8CA) reported that at least 15 men in their early 20s, some with illnesses including schizophrenia and paranoia, were involved in the ring. According to arrest warrants, a Danbury resident named Robert King befriended the young men by plying them with money and drugs. He’s accused of pushing the young men into prostitution after they built up substantial drug debts.
King, 50, was previously arrested and charged with promoting prostitution and witness tampering in connection to the investigation.
Police said he delivered the young men to Bemer, Trefzger and at least four other clients, according to the affidavits. One of the victims told investigators he was looking for bottles in the trash when King approached him and offered money to cut is lawn. King told investigators last year that he “only brought the boys to the clients.” He then stopped the interview, saying he wanted to talk to a lawyer.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.