B.C. pimp sentenced to 23 years in human-trafficking case

A B.C. pimp has been sentenced to 23 years in a human-trafficking case, which is a first in the province’s history.

Reza Moazami was accused of running a teen prostitution ring and convicted of 30 charges including sexual offences and prostitution. He was accused of luring girls as young as 14 into prostitution. Nine of the girls were underage at the time of the offences.

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The 11 girls that Moazami had working for him operated out of downtown Vancouver apartments and hotels across B.C. and Alberta.

Moazami was arrested in a Vancouver bawdy house three years ago and had originally pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was found guilty of a human-trafficking charge, which Crown says is very rare.

A Crown lawyer has said Moazami should spend more than 20 years behind bars. Prosecutor Kristin Bryson argued in B.C. Supreme Court in September that Moazami should serve back-to-back sentences for each of his 11 victims.

After taking time served into account, Moazami will be incarcerated for 17 years, 331 days.