Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk announced the arrest of two men Sunday following a 6-month investigation into a human sex trafficking operation.
Gregory Alexander Hines, 34, and Keith Bernard Lewis, 58, were arrested on charges including human trafficking, racketeering and living off the earnings of prostitution.
Rambosk said the men placed ads on the web site Backpage.com, under the category "escort services." He said that the investigation revealed that the men provided at least four victims with heroin and cocaine for performing sex acts on customers, and threatened them with violence if they didn't comply.
"The drugs are provided to them, and then withdrawn to force the continued sex trafficking activity," Rambosk said at a news conference on Monday. "Unfortunately and tragically, we see that much too often."
Collier County Sheriff's Office Detective Andy Henchesmoore said that Hines and Lewis kept the money their victims were paid for the prostitution, which took place in various hotels in Collier County.
"They kind of manipulate them by making them feel that they're having to do their part to support the 'family,'" Henchesmoore said.
Detectives found drugs and evidence of commercial sex activity when they searched two rooms at the Days Inn on Tollgate Boulevard, near Collier Boulevard and I-75. One victim appeared to be under the influence of a substance, and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Linda Oberhaus, Executive Director of the Shelter For Abused Women and Children in Naples, said that treating women who have been traumatized as victims of human sex trafficking can be a long process.
"To work with a victim of human trafficking, (to) get them all the way to the point where they testify in court...it can be very difficult," she said.
Oberhaus adds that the public can help by reporting any situation you might see where someone appears to be controlled by another person.
Hines and Lewis are both in the Collier County Jail, each with a $1.8 million bond. Rambosk said that there may be other suspects arrested as a result of the investigation, and that other victims may be found.
