'You can't be lazy on my watch,' Court hears audio recordings in trial of alleged traffickers

Amber and Lauriston Maloney outside the Barrie courthouse Thurs. Nov. 21, 2024 (CTV News/Mike Arsalides).

The Crown played audio recordings in a Barrie courtroom Thursday afternoon that provided a glimpse into the lives of alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney and the group of young women who lived and worked for them.

The complainant, the Crown said, is one of the women who lived with the Maloneys and was exploited for work while in a sexual relationship with the Maloneys until she came forward to police following a violent altercation with Lauriston in 2023.

The recordings, the complainant testified, were made with the knowledge of the accused and contained emotional arguments with Lauriston and Amber.

The complainant described being under their control and testified it was expected she be available to the Maloneys at all hours of the day, for little to no pay in return.

"You’re going to put yourself in a bad world," Amber told the complainant who could be heard crying uncontrollably. She expressed frustrations to Amber and claimed she was being unfairly treated by the Maloneys and punished by them.

"You're going to be left with nothing unless you do it the other way," Amber could be heard telling the woman.

The recordings were made while she lived with the Maloneys during the pandemic in which the complainant expressed disdain for Lauriston. She told Amber she hated him.

"The control was the reason I had such a hard time leaving in the first place," she admitted, however, she was in love with Amber and returned to the home in mid-2021 after leaving when the couple introduced another woman to their relationship.

The complainant said Amber told her to stop complaining; Maloney accused her of being jealous and negative and referred to the woman’s behaviour as a ‘demon’ or ‘devil’ inside her.

"You are being warned because we care," she told the complainant.

"[Lauriston’s] expecting you to shut up because that’s the demon that’s destroying you," said Amber Maloney.

"Stop with that thing inside of you that is fighting everything that is being taught to you. That’s when you know it’s a demon. You have a demon," Amber warned the complainant her behaviour would result in their relationship ending.

The woman said the ‘demon’ was any idea or feeling that went against what Lauriston wanted.

"If we were doing something that wasn’t going according to the plan of what Lauriston had set out then it was the demon inside of us telling us not to listen to him."

Amber told the woman Lauriston was "gifted" and a "messenger." Maloney urged the woman to listen to her husband because he was "told things" and had the unique ability to transform their lives financially.

She told the court Lauriston said he knew powerful and influential people and she feared him.

The woman told the court she often worked for nine hours a day as Amber’s assistant with her Beating the Odds autism therapy business. She testified she feared what would happen to her if she left the relationship.

The court heard an exchange between the woman and Lauriston in which he yelled at her and told her she needed to do more around the home to support their relationship.

"You can’t be lazy on my watch," he said.

"Don’t try to make it look like I forced you to stay here."

Lauriston told the woman he could evict her whenever he wanted and said everyone living under his roof needed to show him and others respect.

"The reality is everybody is entirely replaceable," he told her.

She said his behaviour was unpredictable and confusing.

"I didn’t know what was right and what was wrong because it was contradicted every day."

The woman first met Amber Maloney on a dating app in 2016 and quickly entered a relationship with the couple while working for them. She became Amber’s assistant and worked for the couple with the understanding her room and board were covered by the Maloneys while she slept in their bedroom.

As more women were added to the household and their polyamorous relationship, she said tensions grew. The complainant said she and the other women in the home were put to work by the Maloneys and told to cook and clean and serve them drinks while caring for their children along with performing tasks for Lauriston’s home renovation business.

She came forward to police last summer and the Maloneys were charged with human trafficking hours after Ontario Provincial Police issued a public safety advisory warning of Maloney's presence in the community. Maloney is a registered sex offender following a conviction about 20 years ago for pimping out underage girls in Mississauga.

Lauriston Maloney is also accused by the complainant of assault and forcible confinement while his wife is accused of administering a noxious substance.

The trial is scheduled to continue in early January. The allegations against the Maloneys have not been proven in court.