Man charged in Toronto human trafficking investigation allegedly held woman in Montreal hotel room for 3 months
A Markham, Ont. man charged in a human trafficking investigation allegedly held a woman in a Montreal hotel room for three months, investigators say.
Toronto police announced the arrest of 32-year-old Raj Kirubananthan on Tuesday and said he sex trafficked the victim for three years from January 2020 to July 2023.
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The woman, whose age was not disclosed, met the suspect while working in the sex trade, police said. She was then allegedly trafficked by the suspect throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Belleville, Ont.
Police said the suspect also transported the victim outside the province into Quebec, where he “forced” her to work as an escort “while holding her in a hotel room for three months.”
“All of the money earned by the victim was surrendered to the accused,” police said in a news release.
During this time, police said the suspect withheld the victim’s ID and banking cards while using physical force and supplying drugs to “exercise control over the victim.”
Kirubananthan is facing nine charges following the investigation that began last month, including kidnapping, forcible confinement, trafficking in persons by exercising control and material benefits from sexual services.
Police believe there may be more victims and released an image of Kirubananthan on Tuesday.
He was scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Sept. 20.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the investigation to contact them at 416-808-4838 or humantrafficking@torontopolice.on.ca, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
Raj Kirubananthan, 32, of Markham, is facing a number of charges following a human trafficking investigation by Toronto police. Investigators allege Kirubananthan sex trafficked a woman between January 2020 and July 2023 years and held her in a Montreal hotel room for three months. (Toronto Police Service)
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