All of the following people were arrested: Mark Earl Dennis, 52, Andrew Barry Dennis, 45, Michael Ray Blasdel, 36, J.R. Gauthier, 29, Eleanor Faye McGlamory, 56, Michael Wayne Schwartz, 51, and Curtis Lee Gruwell, 34. The seven were arrested when authorities found what they were hiding in a filthy, feces-covered Florida trailer at the Silver Lake Mobile Home Park in St. Petersburg.
When investigating the abduction of an out-of-state juvenile, authorities became aware of the caravan. According to Louisiana officials, a missing 17-year-old from their state may be kept in the St. Petersburg trailer after being “tricked” there through an internet app. Not only did Florida officials locate the missing 17-year-old, but they also located a 16-year-old youngster who had been reported missing from Marion County almost a year ago.
Originally, Mark Dennis, who resided in the trailer with his spouse Andrew Dennis, claimed the 16-year-old was his son. Yet, the horrifying reality was eventually discovered. Promises of a better life reportedly enticed the boy away from his family. Rather, he was discovered dwelling on a little mattress surrounded by animal cages and filth. Then things get worse.
The gang of guys sexually assaulted the youngster frequently, and he became their teenage sex slave for a year. He was only saved when the sexual deviants attempted to entice the second youngster into their abode of horrors. While officials don’t think the Louisianna youngster was sexually beaten, the first boy was introduced to sadomasochism and exploited as a sex slave by Mark and Andrew Dennis, Gruwell, Schwartz, and their allies Michael Ray Blasdel and JR Gauthier for a full year, according to reports.
As a mother, she can’t tell one how upsetting the circumstances of this case are for her, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said. In this instance, the adolescent victim was enticed away from his home with promises of a better life. Rather, he was forced to live in a filthy trailer as a slave for over a year.”
Eleanor McGlamory, 56, of Marion County, is suspected of introducing the youngster to the married couple. Mark and Andrew Dennis, as well as Michael Ray Blasdel and J.R. Gauthier, were arrested in Pinellas County. Michael Wayne Schwartz and Curtis Lee Gruwell, the case’s seventh suspect, were both apprehended. The arrests were made in three counties in all.
Gruwell and McGlamory, who knew the boy’s family, are accused of picking him up in Louisiana and transporting him to St. Petersburg after one of the defendants groomed him using the online gaming app Discord. He was promised he was going to a better place, Police Chief Tony Holloway said of the first adolescent.
Rather, he and the 16-year-old were discovered in the feces-strewn Florida trailer where the Dennises shared a home with Gruwell and Schwartz. McGlamory, like the 17-year-old Louisiana teen, reached out to the younger child when he was 15 years old, according to investigators. She then arranged for him to visit with the Dennises, who provided him a “new identity.” He had left a message for his mother, requesting that she not seek for him.
They exploited him as a sex slave. The living conditions inside this little trailer were appalling. The victim was living on a little mattress with no linen, surrounded by animals, animal cages, and animal excrement, said Major Mark Hensley, repeating previous claims. The seven suspects are all charged with conspiracy to conduct human trafficking and interfering with custody. Moreover, the Dennises, Blasdel, and Gauthier are charged with sexual battery on a minor under the age of 16.
According to police, there might be more victims. And, tragically, more monsters like these seven vile adults who collaborated to mislead and victimize innocent kids may exist in our society. They, like many other teenagers, want a “better life.” Unfortunately, they discovered grownups who were eager to manipulate their emotions in order to prey on their innocence and use it for their own heinous purposes. We normally worry about our girls falling victim to an internet predator, but this should remind us that we must also keep an eye on our boys. You never know what evil lurks online, waiting for a chance to steal our kids.
