Ukrainian women sheltering in London, Ont., say they were asked by the host if they wanted to do sex work

Warning: This article references human trafficking and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.

A number of Ukrainian women who fled the war in their homeland have complained to police that a woman hosting them in her London, Ont., home has asked them to perform sex acts online for money.

The complaints have prompted two Facebook groups that help connect Ukrainians to host families — Canada Hosts Ukraine and Ukraine Help Middlesex — to ban the homeowner from their sites.

A London police spokesperson confirmed Monday that investigators are looking into the complaints, and it's "an active and ongoing investigation." They gave no further details.

Richard Hone, administrator of the Ukraine Help Middlesex Facebook group, shared the text messages that a 19-year-old received from the owner of the house where she was staying. 

"The girl was approached about doing some 'special modelling' and the conversation devolved from there," Hone said. "She was asked, 'Would you do web cam sex shows?'"

Hone shared other messages with CBC News in which the homeowner appears to proposition the teenager for video work for adult websites, telling her she could earn up to $350 US per day. 

"You can be good in the adult industry," the message to the young woman reads. "Would you be interested?"

CBC News is not naming the alleged victim, so as not to identify her as she establishes her life in Canada. Hone said she is now safe and staying with another family.

Hone said administrators of the Ukraine Help Middlesex Facebook group have been in contact with other women who had stayed at the same residence but now live elsewhere. About 10 in total shared similar stories about being asked if they were interested in adult web camera work. 

Sex trafficking concerns raised

Soffia Batova and her mother are in the London area from Ukraine. She also knows one of the young women complainants.  

"Something like that happens to you, you don't know what to do," said Batova. "They're offering you a roof over your head. That's the feeling that you owe something to someone."

Hone said the Ukraine Help Middlesex group tries to prevent situations like this by not allowing young women seeking a host family to post to their page directly. Instead, a site administrator verifies the information and screens potential housing matches. 

Hone said he often has to filter out accommodation offers from men who post sexually suggestive responses to the women's requests for a place to stay. 

"That happens all the time," he said. "As soon as the post goes up, it happens." 

However, that same filter procedure doesn't always happen on the national group, which has much more traffic and 190,000 followers. Hone said it was through the national site that the London homeowner was connecting with women. 

Megan Walker is the former executive director of the London Abused Women's Shelter. 

She said having young Ukrainian women in Canada posting their stories and photos in search of housing is a "prime situation for sex trafficking." 

"When they are dependent on a host, it makes it difficult for them, because they can't leave."

Although retired from the shelter, where she spent over two decades, Walker said she still wants the issues vulnerable people face to be addressed.

"I want to give others the opportunity to be free from dangerous situations."

Support is available through the Ontario government for anyone who has experienced sexual violence or human trafficking. If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call your local police service or the national human trafficking help line at 1-833-900-1010. It is open 24 hours a day. If there is immediate danger, call 911.