Bemer Found Guilty in Danbury Sex Traffic Trial

DANBURY, CT — A six-member jury in Danbury Superior Court has found a millionaire Connecticut businessman guilty on charges of prostitution and participating in a human trafficking ring, the News-Times is reporting.

Bruce Bemer, 65, of Glastonbury, was found guilty on all four felony counts of patronizing a trafficked person and on one count of criminal liability of trafficking a person, Fox61 reported.

Bemer is the owner of the New London-Waterford Speedbowl racetrack. He had admitted to patronizing prostitutes, but his defense team denied he was involved in any human trafficking.

Bemer's co-defendant, Robert King, of Danbury, ran the operation, recruiting Bemer's victims from rehab centers and group homes. He targeted those with mental health issues ranging from depression to schizophrenia in a sex-for-money scheme, the warrant stated. King has pleaded guilty, cutting a deal that calls for four-and-a-half years imprisonment, followed by 35 years of probation. He awaits sentencing. William Trefzger, of Westport, was also named as part of the sex trafficking operation and was sentenced to a year in prison.

During the trial, Bemer's defense team attacked the credibility of Bemer's victims who were called as witnesses, and made motion for the case to be dismissed.

If convicted of all the charges, Bemer faces 30 years in jail. He rejected a plea deal in January which could have kept him from doing any time.