A man is facing more than a dozen charges after he allegedly forced a 21-year-old woman to work for him in the sex trade.
The woman told police that she met the suspect through mutual friends in the summer of 2016 and later, the two decided to live together.
Shortly after moving in, police said the suspect asked the victim about working as an escort so she could make more money – a suggestion she initially refused.
By October, police believe the man had pressured the victim into working the sex trade.
According to police, the man took photos of the woman in various stages of undress and posted the images as advertisements for sexual services on a website.
The woman told police that she did not want to work in the sex industry, however the suspect assaulted, threatened and forced her to provide sexual services at various hotels in the GTA.
In December of 2016, the woman was able to escape and contacted police.
Following the issuing of an arrest warrant, a suspect was located in Montreal on Jan. 27 and arrested.
On Feb. 1, police charged a suspected identified as 23-year-old Matthew Eric Desir with numerous offences including trafficking a person over 18 years old by recruiting, material benefit from sexual services, sexual assault, forcible confinement and extortion.
He was expected to make an appearance in court today.
Investigators are concerned there may be more victims and urge anyone with information to contact them.
