Mr. R. Tomovski

The two accused were found guilty by a jury of human trafficking, procuring, and advertising sexual services.

Augustin was also found guilty of receiving a material benefit from human trafficking and procuring.

The accused exercised significant control over the complainant, forcing her to provide sexual services to numerous men in inhumane conditions and taking all her earnings.

The court sentenced Augustin to 8 years imprisonment (less 11 months credit) and St. Armand to 5 years imprisonment (less 6 months credit), noting the severe impact on the victim and the need for denunciation and deterrence.

On a pretrial Charter application in a human trafficking prosecution, the accused sought exclusion of text messages and other data extracted from the complainant’s cellular telephone.

The court held that, although the accused had established a subjective expectation of privacy in their messages, they lacked standing because that expectation was not objectively reasonable given the nature of the alleged relationship and the complainant’s voluntary surrender of her phone to police.

Relying principally on Marakah and Mills, the court concluded that this was not a relationship society ought to recognize as worthy of section 8 protection for the accused senders.

The application was therefore dismissed.

The court further stated that, if standing had existed, it would have found the complainant’s consent valid, no section 8 breach, and no basis to exclude the evidence under section 24(2).

An accused (K.A.) in a human trafficking case sought an adjournment of a section 10(b) Charter application voir dire, citing unpreparedness due to communication difficulties while in custody amidst COVID-19 restrictions.

The Crown and co-accused opposed the request.

The court, balancing the risk of delay against the accused's right to make full answer and defence, reluctantly granted the adjournment to ensure a fair hearing on the important Charter application, which involved potentially inculpatory evidence.