Boy was scared he would be sold as sex slave: rescuer

Forensic specialists are scouring a small house and collecting evidence in Upper Chelsea, N.S. on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.

Boy was scared he would be sold as sex slave

A 16-year-old boy who was allegedly held captive at a home in Upper Chelsea, N.S. was afraid he would be killed or sold as a sex slave.

Those are the few details he told the people who drove him to safety.

The teen showed up at the Frauzel’s doorstep Monday night, chained at the wrists and ankles, begging for help.

“They had him bound up so tight that his thumb had gone to sleep,” says Terry Frauzel.

Three days later, Frauzel can’t stop thinking about the boy and the events of Monday night.

He says he was watching TV when his wife told him there was a young man in their backyard who didn’t know where he was.

“When I came out, I could see he was hiding around the corner,” he says. “He was hiding around the house and I could see he had a hoodie on, but no pants or footwear.”

Frauzel simply thought the boy was suffering from memory loss.

“I said ‘so how can we help?’ and he said ‘first of all, do you have any bolt cutters?’” says Frauzel. “He showed me the chains around his wrists and said he had them around his feet. I looked at them and just lost it.”

His wife quickly went to get the boy some clothes while Frauzel fetched some bolt cutters. He then cut the chains off the boy’s hands and feet.

“I got them off and he hugged us both and said ‘thank you, it feels so good to be free. I never thought I’d get out of there.’”

The boy claims he was kept at a home on Faulkner Road for two weeks by two men. Police confirm a preliminary investigation indicates he was in the home for a period of 10 to 14 days.

The teen managed to escape the home Monday night and travelled up the road about 2.2 kilometres before he came across the Frauzel’s home.

He told them he had jumped into the bushes when a car drove by because he was scared his captors were looking for him.

“They threatened to sell him,” says Frauzel. “They had convinced him that if he went to the police or told about it that they would harm his family, which is a normal tactic of these types of people.”

“I told him the minute you tell police what went on, they’ll lose their power over you.”

The boy also told them he had escaped from the home before, but was found.

“The first time he said he was running away and they caught him by hitting him with the mirror of the vehicle and knocked him down.”

Frauzel tried calling some phone numbers the teen gave him, but after 15 minutes of busy signals, he agreed to drive the boy to a home in Bridgewater.

“On the way to town I talked to him and I said you’ve got to get help, professional help, because this is going to affect you for the rest of your life.”

The teen told Frauzel he had been living on the streets and agreed to go with the men after they promised him a job.

When Frauzel returned home, the police were waiting to take a statement and they took the chains as evidence.

“You can never take back his innocence, of being in that situation, but hopefully he’ll get over it when he hears they’re (the suspects) are taken care of,” says Frauzel. “Especially when they’re captured; he’ll feel a lot safer.”

Frauzel says the boy didn’t talk about what went on inside the home, nor did he ask.

According to court documents, police were told the boy had been sleeping on the streets of Halifax and woke up in a van with a man who took him to a home in Lunenburg County.

The report says there was a second man at the home and over the course of several days, the two men “forcibly confined and sexually assaulted the 16-year-old male.”

Police say the teen was taken to hospital and is safe.

Suspects still on the loose

Investigators spent Wednesday scouring the Faulkner Road home for evidence and now they are turning their attention to tracking down two male suspects in connection with the case.

The suspects have been identified as 47-year-old David James Leblanc and 31-year-old Wayne Alan Cunningham,

Both men face charges of forcible confinement and sexual assault.

“I think the nature of the charges speak for themselves,” says Sgt. Alain LeBlanc. “They are serious charges.”

Police believe LeBlanc and Cunningham may be travelling through Ontario and are asking members of the public to watch for a grey 2003 Hyundai Elantra with the license plate FBP 233.

They say one vehicle – a brown 2002 Chevrolet Venture van – was found in Nova Scotia in relation to the case.

Police say they have received numerous tips from the public over the past 24 hours as to the suspects’ whereabouts.

They also say not to approach the suspects if spotted and to contact police.

CTV News has learned the suspects both served time in 2006 after being convicted of more than 20 charges each for crimes such as break and enter, fraud, forged documents and theft.

LeBlanc is supposed to appear in court in November for a preliminary hearing on allegations of sexual assault and making, possessing and distributing child pornography in connection with another case.

He is accused of molesting two young boys in Nova Scotia in 2010.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kayla Hounsell and Kelland Sundahl