SELECTED CASE LAW
ONTARIO:
In 2015 ONCJ 392, Ms. C was charged in Youth Court with procuring Ms. T to become a prostitute, attempting to procure Ms. B to become a prostitute, failing to comply with a youth sentence, intimidating Ms. T to perform acts of prostitution, and participating in a criminal organization to traffic a minor. Ms. H was charged in Youth Court with obstructing a police officer, failing to comply with a youth court order, procuring Ms. T to become a prostitute, aiding and abetting Ms. T to engage in prostitution, living on the avails of Ms. T’s prostitution, trafficking Ms. T, intimidating Ms. T to perform acts of prostitution, and participating in a criminal organization to traffic a minor.
Ms. C was recruiting teenage girls to provide sexual services for money. Ms. H acted in a supervisory role in the enterprise and profited from the exchanges. Ms. C tried to recruit Ms. AB into prostitution a month earlier. Ms. AB confirmed that Ms. T was comfortable with the idea of going to a city for the purposes of prostitution. Ms. T went to a city with other girls when she was 14, she was unfamiliar with the city, had no money, phone, or personal connections in Toronto. She claimed she did not know the purpose of the trip. When Ms. T’s father began looking for her, her friends, including Ms. C, provided misinformation so he would not find her. While in the city, two other men joined the group and advertisements for Ms. T’s sexual services were placed on Backpage’s website through one of the men’s phone, including sexualized images of Ms. T and Ms. H. This group of people had organized trips like this before. Ms. T provided sexual services over 10 days and was not allowed to keep any of the money she was paid, she was told that unnamed persons “were after her”. Ms. T returned home 10 days later sick, malnourished and with infected and injured genitalia.
Ms. C was convicted with procuring Ms. T to become a prostitute, attempting to procure Ms. B to become a prostitute, and failing to comply with a youth sentence. She was acquitted of intimidating Ms. T to perform acts of prostitution and participating in a criminal organization to traffic a minor. Ms. H was convicted with obstructing a police officer, failing to comply with a youth court order, procuring Ms. T to become a prostitute, and aiding and abetting Ms. T to en-gage in prostitution. She was acquitted of living on the avails of Ms. T’s prostitution, trafficking Ms. T, intimidating Ms. T to perform acts of prostitution, and participating in a criminal organization to traffic a minor.
Criminal Offence(s): Intimidation, Human Trafficking and Advertising Sexual Services