One of the defendants, Robert King, found some of his victims at drug rehab centers.
The suspects targeted teenage boys and young men who were developmentally disabled, mentally ill and addicted to drugs, police said. While both male and female trafficking victims suffer trauma and other psychological scars, data suggest men and boys are less likely to come forward and when they do they are more likely to have difficulties finding counseling and other services, victims and advocates say. The case has illuminated what victims and advocates call the underreported scourge of male sex trafficking.
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Two men have pleaded guilty to trafficking-related charges and a third is expected to go on trial early next year. One of the victims had told the probation officer about being trafficked, officials said. The operation appeared to date to the 1990s and was discovered only after a state probation officer reported it to authorities in January 2016, police said. Police said they identified at least 15 victims of the Connecticut trafficking ring but believe there could be dozens more.