After completing an intensive five-month long investigation, Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 32-year-old man on charges he used a woman as a sex slave.
The MSCO investigation revealed that Ryan Gemelle Poole exploited a female victim to include taking control of all of her money, selling her and forcing her to participate in numerous acts of prostitution in Marion, Alachua, Orange, Hillsborough and Charlotte counties.
“Poole promoted the victim on multiple sex websites and profited from her actions depicted on those websites. Poole also solicited a second woman to participate in these online sexual activities but after one session the second woman decided to separate herself from Poole and his victim. Additionally, Poole forced the victim to perform multiple acts of prostitution and took possession of all the money she was given for the encounters,” MCSO said in a news release.
This is the third human trafficking arrest made in the history of the MCSO. Because these crimes occurred throughout multiple jurisdictions, prosecutors with the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will be the prosecuting authority for the charges in this case.
“Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime and the allegations in this case are sickening— further proving that we must do everything we can to eliminate human trafficking in Florida,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Working with our great law enforcement partners like Marion County Sheriff Emery Gainey and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the subject of this investigation was arrested and justice will be served.”