Okotoks RCMP say woman charged with human trafficking met teenage victims on social media
CBC News | Posted: October 5, 2016 10:54 PM | Last Updated: October 6, 2016
Accused from High River, Alta., is in police custody and will appear in court at the end of the month
A 23-year-old woman has been accused of exploiting teenage girls she met through social media.
The victims are five girls from the Okotoks, Alta. area between the ages of 13 and 16, RCMP said Wednesday.
"The charges stem from an investigation initiated by an RCMP school resource officer who became aware that some local teens were being recruited via social media and then exploited by adults for criminal purposes," Okotoks RCMP said in a press release.
The woman, who lives in High River, Alta., has been charged with several counts of human trafficking and procuring a person under 18. She's also facing one charge of assault.
The woman is in police custody and will appear in provincial court in Okotoks on Oct. 28.
Police say the five victims are being helped by Child and Family Services and Foothills Victim Services.
Clarifications:- Police had initially said the charges against the woman included four counts of living off the avails of prostitution but later retracted that, saying it was an error. October 6, 2016 5:31 PM