FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A man arrested Thursday by Flagler County deputies is accused of having sex with multiple minor victims in exchange for drugs, money, clothes and food, according to the sheriff’s office.
David Chenowith, 32, faces charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a victim between 12 and 16 years old, human trafficking of a minor, unlawful sexual activity with a minor, fentanyl trafficking between 4 to 14 grams, controlled substance sale and hashish possession, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Chenowith was arrested via warrant after an investigation began June 21, spurred by a citizen who reached out to the sheriff’s office after receiving concerning messages from a juvenile victim, the release states. The sheriff’s office’s Major Case Unit would reportedly go on to identify multiple juveniles ranging from 14 to 16 years old as victims of human trafficking perpetrated by Chenowith. A warrant for Chenowith’s cellphone was also obtained, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies arrested Chenowith during a traffic stop which otherwise uncovered him to be in possession of “several drugs with intent to distribute,” the release states. Six small baggies of a white powder and/or rock-like substance were found in the vehicle Chenowith was stopped in, as well as four THC cartridges, four baggies containing cannabis and four containing THC gummies, according to the sheriff’s office. Of the bags containing the white substance, three of them tested positive for fentanyl while the other three tested positive for cocaine, deputies said.
Chenowith is currently being held in the county jail on $117,500 bond, booking records show.
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