Sault Police, OPP, participate in human trafficking investigation

The OPP announced Wednesday members of police services across Ontario were able to ensure the safety of six people who had been working in the sex trade in exploitive situations.

Two of the people are under 16.

As a result, 12 people were charged with 21 offences as part of Operation Northern Spotlight, a coordinated national effort to end human trafficking.

“Our officers were involved in this project, however I can say no arrests were made in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Cst. Sonny Spina of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, speaking to SooToday Wednesday.

Over a seven day period, 46 police services in Ontario participated in Operation Northern Spotlight, involving 331 police officers, as well as support staff and victim services workers, as part of a joint effort coordinated by the OPP.

The operation was part of an international effort led by the FBI, RCMP, and police services from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia and the United Kingdom.

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for forced labour, sexual slavery or commercial sexual exploitation.

Spina said any local victims of human trafficking should by all means contact the Sault Police Service and/or the Neighbourhood Resource Centre at 138 Gore Street.

“We enjoy the luxury of having some tremendous partnerships with great agencies within our city, so if someone were to reach out to us thinking they are a victim and need help, we are certainly going to be able to connect them with the proper agencies that are going to be able to help them,” Spina said.

“Don’t be afraid to approach us, our primary function will be to help people, always.”

“Whatever services we can’t provide immediately to those potential victims, we have partners that can.” 

“If anybody suspects human trafficking, please contact us,” Spina said.

Seven officers from Sault Police were involved in Operation Northern Spotlight, along with a worker from Victim Services of Algoma, Spina said.

Of that group, two officers and a Victim Services worker were sent to Sudbury to assist with the project over the course of two days.

“It’s certainly not just females that are involved in this. It affects anyone of any age, gender or sexual orientation. Our goal is to look for people who are being victimized and the bottom line is, with human trafficking, these people are being treated as commodities,” Spina said.

“Human beings are not commodities and we will not allow them to be treated as such and we’ll look to do anything we can in order to help those people.”

Girls who get trapped in human trafficking become victims due to poverty, low education, mental or physical disabilities, previous childhood sexual abuse, coming from unstable backgrounds and eroded family structures like foster homes, or being bounced around from home to home.

They get treated to dinner and gifts (and/or drugs) by men who present themselves as ‘a boyfriend,’ then are made to feel obligated to pay for it all by performing sex work.

With that comes physical abuse from the male controller.

Human trafficking victims who have the courage to come forward can be helped with an array of services such as temporary accommodations, food, transportation and counselling.

During Operation Northern Spotlight, police met with people suspected of being in exploitive situations. 

They were provided contacts and information for community-based support agencies and offered both immediate and future police assistance to leave the exploitation they were involved in. 

Charges laid include: 

• Advertise Another Person's Sexual Services
• Possession of Property Obtained by Crime 
• Receive Material Benefit from Sexual Services 
• Keeping a Common Bawdy House 
• Procuring Material Benefit
• Trafficking in Persons
• Prohibited Weapon 
• Procuring a Person Under 18 Years of Age
• Receive a Material Benefit Under 18 Years of Age. 

In a news release, Rick Barnum, OPP Deputy Commissioner, stated “Human trafficking is a deplorable crime that threatens the safety, livelihood and dignity of those who are being exploited and abused. This is a complex issue that affects some of the most vulnerable people in our society and does not recognize jurisdictional boundaries.  It is our duty to act decisively and effectively to recognize and protect these people from exploitation and it is imperative that we have a concentrated effort amongst all our partners to be effective".