After meeting Mr Lennox at a downtown Montreal nightclub, the victim, a 17-year-old girl, was seduced and later brought to Toronto. Mr Lennox eventually forced her into prostitution and took control of all her earnings. As the victim initially did not have the necessary identification documents for employment in an exotic dance club, she was made to prostitute on the street, and then as an escort and exotic dancer. The victim was also subjected to threats and intimidation when she wished to leave the sex trade.
Note: These case facts are drawn directly from ‘Royal Canadian Mounted Police Criminal Intelligence, Human Trafficking in Canada (2010)’.
Canada1st Instance:
Lennox plead guilty in December 2008.
In December 2008 Mr Lennox plead guilty to trafficking an underage female and procuring three other persons (one under 18) to become prostitutes. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment but received “double-credit” for the time he served in custody prior to the trial. As a result of this he spent only a week in jail after his date of conviction.
Section 279.01 Criminal Code (Canada):
279.011 (1) Every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person under the age of eighteen years, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person under the age of eighteen years, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation is guilty of an indictable offence and liable
(a) to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of six years if they kidnap, commit an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or cause death to, the victim during the commission of the offence; or
(b) to imprisonment for a term of not more than fourteen years and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years, in any other case.
Consent
(2) No consent to the activity that forms the subject-matter of a charge under subsection (1) is valid.
Section 212 Criminal Code (Canada)
Unknown court, Montreal
Primary Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Criminal Intelligence, Human Trafficking in Canada (2010).
