For 20 years, a Connecticut-based prostitution ring trafficked in mentally-disabled young men, court papers revealed this week.
The ring catered to wealthy male clients in Connecticut and Massachusetts who paid $250 for sex, according to court papers cited in the News-Times.
At least 15 young men in their early 20s were exploited in the ring, authorities allege.
The young men suffered illnesses that include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; some were severely disabled and living in group homes, authorities allege.
The ring had been under investigation since January 2016; the first big break came last year with the arrest of Danbury resident Robert King, described by Connecticut prosecutors as running the operation.
King would befriend vulnerable young men, including one he found rummaging through a dumpster, according to court papers cited by the News-Times.
He would then allegedly get them hooked on cocaine and heroin, pushing them to prostitute themselves to pay for their mounting drug debts.
“I’m just a gay guy trying to help people,” King claimed to Danbury detectives, when they approached him in August 2016, according to one affidavit.
King has been charged with prostitution and witness tampering.
Two alleged clients have been arrested and charged with patronizing a trafficked person.
One, Bruce J. Bemer, of Glastonbury, is the owner of the Waterford Speedbowl and New England Motor Sports. He allegedly told authorities that King had been sending young men to him for sex for more than 20 years.