Three men from the Toronto area face charges after a sex trafficking investigation by Kingston police.
Police say the men are accused of being involved in a human trafficking ring that stretched from London to Kingston. According to Kingston police, the men brought three females, including a 14-year-old girl, to a motel in Kingston on September 26. A witness became concerned for the women and called police. Officers came to the hotel and took the 14-year-old, who was from Hamilton, to a safe location where they were able to confirm her age and identity.
The other two women were a 20-year-old from the Woodstock area and an 18-year-old from St. Catherines.
The investigation revealed the men took the victims to hotels in London, Mississauga, Toronto, Guelph, and Peterborough and prostituted them using local advertisements.
"The girls were controlled through intimidation and financial dependence as the accused kept the money and only doled out small increments," Kingston police said in a statement issued Tuesday.
Police say the 14-year-old was recruited with promises of a "lavish lifestyle," a tactic experts say is often used by traffickers who prey upon young and vulnerable women.
Three men have been charged with procuring a minor, two counts of procuring, trafficking a minor, two counts of trafficking persons, advertising sexual services, material benefit trafficking a minor, and material benefit trafficking persons.
The 18-year-old Brampton man was also charged with criminal harassment by threatening conduct, kidnapping, sexual interference, and sexual assault.
The 18-year-old Mississauga man was additionally charged with three counts of breach recognizance.
