Manitoba RCMP Arrest 7 Individuals, Lay 65 Charges in Investigation of Human Trafficking Involving Teenage Girls
Seven people have been arrested and 65 charges have been laid in connection with a Manitoba RCMP child exploitation and human trafficking investigation.
The probe in Portage la Prairie by the Mounties’ internet child exploitation unit uncovered two 15-year-old victims, although police suspect there may be more, RCMP Inspector Shawn Pike said.
“Our investigators believe there are more survivors,” Insp. Pike said at a July 9 press conference. “Information has led our officers to know that a currently unidentified 13- or 14-year-old female was also exploited.”
The investigation began in early February when the RCMP received a tip that a young girl had regularly been seen throughout the city with older men, Insp. Pike said. Officers soon discovered that two 15-year-old girls had been victimized by several men after being targeted by an adult female.
The woman told the girls they could hang out with her and her friends and they would be provided with drugs and money, police allege. This reportedly went on between June of 2023 and December of 2023.
“When the youth arrived with the adult female, there would be an adult male present who would provide drugs in exchange for sexual acts,” Insp. Pike said. “On many occasions, the youth were locked in the location by the adult female. These youths were not able to escape.”
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Police allege the woman was also given drugs, such as methamphetamine and cocaine, as a form of payment.
The exploitation also included men sending nude photos to the two girls and requesting photos of them in return. Snapchat and Facebook Messenger were used to “groom or procure services” from the teens, police said.
“The tragic reality is, there is more of this. If you think it’s not happening in your community, you are wrong,” Insp. Pike said. “Youth of all ages, backgrounds, and life circumstances can be exploited and taken advantage of through the actions of adults.”
“This is human trafficking,” he added. “These kids are getting hurt.”
The RCMP confiscated a “large quantity” of methamphetamine and cocaine, and 14 firearms, namely rifles and shotguns during the arrests, police said.
Charged with two counts of trafficking a person under the age of 18 and four counts of child luring is Chasity Nicole Assiniboine, 43, from Long Plain First Nation. She was also charged with two counts of uttering threats, benefiting from sexual services provided by someone under the age of 18, advertising sexual services, and procuring a person under the age of 18.
The six men facing charges are from Portage la Prairie, police said, adding that the accused “are all known to each other.”
Wesley Clayton Roulette, 44, David Guy Howard Taylor and Sean Michael Boak, both 40, and Alexander Paul Lidster and Frank Peter Justin Tecza, both 39, face a litany of charges including varying counts of sexual interference, child luring, and sexual assault.
Scott Joseph Taylor, 34, faces one count of obtaining sexual services for consideration for persons under 18 and one count of unsafe storage of firearms charges in connection with the investigation.
