The relationship between an accused human trafficker and his alleged victim blossomed quickly, police say.
“We believe that they became known to each other around Thanksgiving,” Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel tells CTV News.
A 21-year-old Cambridge man was arrested late Saturday night at a Cambridge hotel and charged with human trafficking and living off the avails of prostitution of a person under the age of 18 – essentially keeping the money she earned while working in prostitution.
“What we’re looking at here is a situation where police are alleging that the male financially exploited the female … encouraged her into performing escort services” says Heinzel.
“The money that she obtained from those services (was) obtained by him for personal gain.”
It is believed the 17-year-old alleged victim used several hotels on Hespeler Road in Cambridge as a base of operations for the escort services.
Police say the pair met outside Waterloo Region, and allege the teen didn’t begin working as a prostitute until Nov. 21 – nine days before the man was arrested.
