Closing arguments begin in Doreze Beals human trafficking case

Closing arguments began Thursday in the case of a North Preston man on trial for human trafficking.

Doreze Beals, 19, is accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, and threatening to force her into prostitution in April 2014. 

In December, the girl testified in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax that she escaped from a home on Clarence Street in North Preston, where she was held in a cellar against her will and sexually assaulted.

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She told the court Beals grabbed her by the hair and arm, forcing her into the cellar through a trap door. She said Beals told her she'd be going to Toronto, which she understood meant she would be forced into prostitution. 

Last month, Beals told a different version of what happened. He said he barely knew the girl, having only talked briefly with her through Facebook and text messages. 

He testified he and the girl were alone at his house that day when her mother showed up. Beals said the girl asked to be hidden in the cellar because she was terrified of her mother.

At the start of Thursday's court session, the Crown announced it was reducing one of the charges against Beals. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault. Now the charge is sexual assault.

Beals's lawyer, Laura McCarthy, took more than two hours to make her closing arguments. Justice Glen McDougall decided to put Crown arguments over until Friday.

Another man, 19-year-old Andre Gray, has pleaded guilty in the case. His sentencing has been delayed because the Beals trial has continued longer than expected. 

The CBC's Blair Rhodes was live blogging from court.