Editor’s note (Jan. 18, 2018): The charges outlined in the article below were later withdrawn due a lack of reasonable chance for conviction. The alleged victim died in September 2017.
A 19-year-old Toronto woman is facing numerous charges after police allege she forced another woman into sex work to settle an unpaid debt.
According to police, the two met in the Hamilton area sometime last year.
Police allege that the 39-year-old victim was coerced into becoming an escort to repay her debt to the suspect after initially refusing to do so.
Police say images of the woman “in various stages of undress” were posted online. The victim worked in hotels in Toronto and Hamilton.
All of the proceeds were allegedly handed over to the accused.
The victim was “assaulted, threatened, and forced to provide sexual services,” police alleged in a news release on Tuesday.
She escaped on Thursday and contacted police. The suspect surrendered on Monday after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
The suspect is facing 10 charges in total, including various sex trafficking-related charges as well as assault, uttering threats and overcoming resistance by choking.
She was scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday.