Knowing that the RCMP did what it could to ensure more sex trade workers will hear the warning to steer clear of the rural north Okanagan property where Curtis Sagmoen lives is a relief to Angie Lohr.
The executive director of HOPE Outreach has seen the worst of what the sex trade can do to vulnerable women and has spoken frankly and frequently about how that community has been failed as her volunteer-based organization has worked to fill the gaps.
Yesterday’s move by the RCMP to issue a second warning to sex trade workers that they should stay away was nothing short of impressive, she said.
In a press release, RCMP said Curtis Wayne Sagmoen, age 41, who resides in the Salmon River Road area, is bound by a court-imposed probation order, a condition of which specifies that he “must not have any contact in any way with any sex trade workers.”
“It has come to our attention that there may be sex workers, new to the area, who are not aware of this individual,” Const. Chris Terleski of the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said in a press release.
“In the interest of their safety, we are once again advising anyone who receives a request for sex-related services in the area of Salmon River Road, not attend the area, and contact police immediately.
HOPE Outreach will also be sending out an alert to its network of 200 agencies Tuesday. It’s a move it’s done in the past. For the last decade, it’s issued bad date warnings when a woman has been assaulted or threatened while working in the sex trade or when there are concerns that for safety.
The network of organizations HOPE Outreach is plugged into once made the information readily available to most sex trade workers, but COVID-19 has been a game-changer and Lohr said there’s been a lot of turn over.
“Many have gone online for sex trade work and it’s really hard to warn those women,” Lohr said.
“New people come into the community that might not be aware of or haven’t seen that alert over the last few years ….so it just reiterates that every woman and man need to be really cautious out there, period.”
Sagmoen will be in court next month for charges of assaulting a peace officer.
The charge relates to allegations that Sagmoen lunged at a police officer who was at his property to execute a search warrant in October 2020, pushing her against the wall of a house.
It was a week earlier when police issued their first public warning about Sagmoen.
Then, like now, RCMP warned sex trade workers not to respond to requests for service from the rural North Okanagan area where Sagmoen lived as he was under a probation order not to have contact with people who work in the sex trade.
The North Okanagan man has been convicted of assault causing bodily harm and using a firearm.
Sagmoen’s legal issues have generated a lot of public attention since the remains of a missing teen, 18-year-old Traci Genereaux, were found on Sagmoen’s family farm in 2017.
No one has been charged in connection with her death.