Teen prostitution recruit says she was punched, assaulted

An Ottawa court heard the account of a girl, now 17 years old, who said she was punched and sexually assaulted during an attempt to recruit her into an alleged teen prostitution ring last year. 

Three teenage girls — two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old — are facing 74 charges in the case, including human trafficking and forcible confinement, for allegedly luring nine girls to a southeast Ottawa home and forcing them into prostitution. Two of the accused were 15 years old at the time of the alleged incidents and the other was 16.  

The girl who testified on Monday is the second alleged victim to testify, She is also the only one of the seven victims that is testifying against all three accused. All other victims are testifying against two of the accused.

On Monday, the court watched a taped Ottawa police interview with the second alleged victim recorded last spring.

Alleged victim says she met accused at probation office

She spoke quickly describing how she met the eldest of the three accused at the probation office where they both were seeing their parole officers. She said the accused initially seemed "nice," so they started hanging out.

The alleged victim said she met the other two accused at one of the teen's homes, where they had gone to listen to music.

According to the teen, one of the accused asked her if she'd consider escorting because she could make a lot of money. The victim said she said she would not do that. 

She alleged the three forced her outside and told her she was going to be an escort for two 40-year-old men.

Victim said 3 teens punched her in the face

The trio allegedly tried to force her into a vehicle with two men inside. The teen said the three accused began punching her in the face and pulled out her hair extensions as she tried to escape.

She said the oldest accused told her to stop resisting or she'd end up in the hospital because "snitches get stitches."

Then allegedly the two men, the three accused and the girl went to an Ottawa apartment building where the girl was pushed inside a bedroom.

She said she was hyperventilating, because of her asthma, had a battered face and was crying.

She said the apartment's tenant wanted oral sex and she was forced to do it, adding the alleged "john" then gave the accused trio $80.

They then went to a park near a housing project in the southeast part of the city, the girl told the court, where the trio told her she would have to be pimped out to a second "john," the taxi driver.

The trial continues Tuesday.

This time they called a taxi and the driver took her to his home somewhere in Gatineau, Que.

The alleged victim told the man that she was only 16 and asked him to help her.

The man agreed to tell the accused that they had sex and then he gave the accused $75.

Mother testified on Friday

Her mother testified Friday that her daughter may not have wanted to approach police because one of the accused threatened to slit her daughter's throat.

The woman, who can't be named to protect her daughter's identity, told the court she was begged not to call police because the three accused knew where her daughter lived and where she went to school.

The girl came home with a bloody nose and bruised face after being beaten, her mother also said.

Visited home of accused

Later that night, the mother said she went to the home of one of the accused to get items allegedly stolen from her daughter, including a jacket, jewelry, a bus pass, a debit card, a cellphone and hair extensions.

"I was determined I wasn't going to stop until I got them back," she told the court.

The second victim's account of the alleged incidents will be given Monday via video after the police interview is finished playing.

Three teenage girls — two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old — are facing charges that include human trafficking and forcible confinement, for allegedly luring nine girls to a southeast Ottawa home and forcing them into prostitution.

They were arrested in June 2012.

None of the accused or victims can be named because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Increased security

As of Thursday, everyone who enters the courtroom has to pass through a metal detector. That is due to "recent events," according to the Crown.

The Crown wouldn't confirm the reasons for increased security but it requested a mother of one of the accused be banned from the current testimony, and a friend be banned from the rest of the trial for "staring down" the second alleged victim on Friday.

The mother was allowed to stay with a warning, but the teenage friend was banned from the trial.

Police are checking bags and identification, as well as questioning each person about why they are attending the trial.

The Crown and defence also agreed on a statement of facts Friday, which includes the pseudonyms used by the three accused on various social media accounts. The Crown alleged the accounts were accused to lure young teens into prostitution.

The first alleged victim to testify in the trial said two of the accused used several of the pseudonyms.