Assault by suffocation charge laid after Ontario woman refuses sex trafficking demands

A Mississauga, Ont., man is facing charges including assault by suffocation, forcible confinement and sexual assault after police in London, Ont. say a woman was victimized over the course of nearly a year, culminating in a violent incident at an Airbnb last month.

The man’s friend is also facing charges relating to threatening the victim.

“As with all human trafficking investigations, there is a chance that there may be additional victims. We are sharing this information just to make the public aware of the incident that took place,” acting Sgt. Sandasha Bough said.

“If there are any additional victims out there or anybody who has had contact with these individuals and they believe that police need to be notified of those interactions, then we do ask that they contact us.”

According to police, a London woman met a man through a mutual friend last November and after about a month he began to isolate her from her loved ones, took control of her finances and suggested she perform sex acts with men.

Police were contacted on Sept. 25, a day after the woman was taken to an Airbnb where she was filmed engaging in sex acts with the man and assaulted and threatened once she stopped complying with his demands, police say.

She sustained minor physical injuries but police “don’t have any information that they attended or needed any medical assistance at all,” Bough said.

With help from the Peel Regional Police, a suspect was arrested on Sept. 28.

Fayzo Zebari, 32, of Mississauga is charged with assault by suffocation, sexual assault, forcible confinement, criminal harassment by combination of prohibited conduct, material benefit from sexual services, trafficking in persons by recruiting and uttering threats.

Sammy A. J. Reali, 32, of London, is charged with uttering threats and attempting to obstruct justice.

Bough also suggested that police have no reason to believe that the Airbnb host was aware of what was going on.

“We have only charged two individuals in relation to this investigation. And no, it doesn’t appear as though the individual who is charged has any affiliation with the Airbnb that was involved.”

Victims of trafficking, or those who suspect that someone is a victim of trafficking, can find information about different services and resources on the London Police Service’s website, Bough added.

“We have a number of different tips on our website and services and links that you can actually visit in order to get a little bit more information about human trafficking itself, as well as those support systems in place.”