Florida sex-slave trafficking ring busted

A waterfront home on Florida's Treasure Island became a prison for several women who were told they would be taken care of but were instead forced into a life of prostitution.

The women also had to dance at clubs in the Tampa Bay area and elsewhere while being physically and mentally abused.

"It was violent," Pinellas County sheriff's Captain Theresa Dioquino said at a news conference Sunday. "There was a lot of mind control, and the personal liberties these individuals actually had at one time were taken from them."

After a two-month investigation that began with a tip, three people accused of running the human trafficking operation were arrested Saturday night.

The victims, all "very young women" of legal age, were recruited by someone who promised them money and security, Dioquino said.

"These were vulnerable women; these were unsuspecting women," she said.

Clyde Smith, who lives across the street from the house where deputies say the human trafficking ring was run, describes the neighborhood as a tight-knit community.

"It's shocking," Smith said. "The only thing unusual about the family over there - or what I thought to be a family - is that we didn't know them. And in this neighborhood you do know most of your neighbors."

Smith said he never saw anything unusual at the property from the street or the water.

"This is the quietest neighborhood. Up until this we've had a bicycle theft once or twice in the last two years."

Several victims have been identified, although others may be too scared to come forward, investigators say.