British Columbia

Supreme Court of Canada will not hear appeal by convicted B.C. sex trafficker

Canada's highest court will not hear an appeal from a B.C. man who was convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex.

Convicted pimp Reza Moazami had sought leave to appeal a September decision by B.C. Court of Appeal

Reza Moazami is shown in profile in a court sketch. He has close-cropped dark hair and is wearing glasses.
Convicted pimp Reza Moazami, pictured in a court sketch, has lost his attempt to take his case to the Supreme Court of Canada. (CBC)

Canada's highest court will not hear an appeal from a B.C. man who was convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex.

Reza Moazami, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison, had sought leave with the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal a September decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal.

That court dismissed his appeals of his 2014 conviction on 30 prostitution-related offences, as well as a later conviction on an attempt to obstruct justice by attempting to influence the testimony of a witness.

Moazami had sought those appeals on the grounds that the behaviour of a former Vancouver detective, Jim Fisher, who investigated his case, may have interfered with his right to a fair trial.

Fisher pleaded guilty in 2018 to breach of trust for kissing a 21-year-old victim in Moazami's case as well as sexual exploitation and breach of trust involving a 17-year-old girl who was a victim in a separate prostitution-related case.

As is customary, the Supreme Court of Canada did not give reasons for its decision Thursday to dismiss Moazami's application for leave to appeal.