Pinellas deputies: 3 arrested in human trafficking case

A waterfront home became a prison for several women who were told they would be taken care of but were instead forced into a life of prostitution, authorities say.

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

"It was violent," Pinellas County sheriff's Capt. 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 from the 1,668-square-foot home were arrested Saturday night.

Kenyatta Cornelous, 38, Edward Jones, 47, and Corinna Shaffer, 24, all listed their address as the home at 10214 Tarpon Drive.

It's believed to be the first such case in the Bay area and possibly the state, officials said.

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. Once the women were taken to the home, "that's when the horror began."

Their clothes, credit cards, identification cards, cell phones and money were taken away. They were rarely allowed to leave the house and when they did, they were followed and watched, investigators say.

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.

Cornelous is charged with sexual battery, human trafficking and deriving proceeds from prostitution, the sheriff's office said. He was being held without bail on the sexual battery charge. His bail on the other charges totals $60,000.

Jones is charged with human trafficking and was being held on $50,000 bail.

Shaffer is charged with human trafficking and deriving proceeds from prostitution and was being held on bail totaling $60,000.

Investigators continued to search Sunday for another man, Colin Dyer, in connection to the trafficking case.

The investigation also included Clearwater police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Anyone with information on the case should call the sheriff's office at (727) 582-6200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.