A Richmond Hill man is facing human trafficking charges after an incident at an Orillia hotel earlier this week.
The Orillia OPP answered a called for assistance at an unidentified hotel on Tuesday. While at the hotel, they were notified of a woman outside one of the rooms in "emotional distress."
The officers spoke to the woman, who is not from Orillia and is in her 20s, and noticed "indicators" of human trafficking.
Orillia OPP Const. Martin Hill could not specifically identify those indicators, but said examples would be how the woman was dressed, how long her stay at the hotel was and what time of day the incident occurred.
"It's sort of like when you pull someone over and their eyes are glossy and they're slurring their words, you're going to test for sobriety," said Hill.
As a result of their conversation with the woman, officers "formed the grounds" to arrest the suspect for human trafficking-related offences. As a result, the Orillia OPP Crime Unit was called in to assist.
Subsequently, police charged a 25-year-old North York resident with:
- Traffick in Persons (Adult) contrary to Section 279.01 of the Criminal Code;
- Material benefit resulting from trafficking in persons (Adult) contrary to Section 279.02 of the Criminal Code;
- Material benefit from sexual services (Adult) contrary to Section 286.2(1) of the Criminal Code;
- Advertising sexual services (Adult) contrary to Section 286.4 of the Criminal Code, and
- Failure to comply with undertaking (Adult) contrary to Section 145(4)(a) of the Criminal Code.
The suspect was remanded in custody and is set to appear next on Sept. 8, 2020, at the Ontario Court of Justice, Barrie.
Hill said the suspect was not named to protect the identity of the victim and, potentially, other victims.
He said it is OPP policy not to name businesses involved in criminal offences and, as a result, would not name the hotel.
"Human trafficking is happening in our community," said Hill. "There are people out there that need our help to escape that life."
He said there are resources to help people who have been victims of human trafficking.
If you or someone you know need help you can contact North Simcoe Victim Services at 1-705-325-5578, the Huronia Transition Home, which helps victims of human trafficking at 1-833-999-9211 or the Ontario Provincial Police at 1-888-310-1122.
If you have any information about a crime, please contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
You can submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com if you have any information on this crime or any other crime. Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.
