CALGARY — A man accused of forcing a teenage girl to work as a sex slave for over a month has been charged with human trafficking.
Police say an 18-year-old called police after fleeing a house in the city's northeastern suburbs in August.
Eric Jean Pierre Riendeau, 25, is charged with human trafficking, living off the avails of prostitution and assault. It's only the third time the rarely used charge of human trafficking has been laid by city police.
The victim, who hails from Eastern Canada and travelled west this summer, was allegedly an exploited worker, which prompted police to lay the human trafficking charge.
"Human trafficking is really characterized as modern day slavery. Chains aren't chains anymore — they're psychological and financial confinement. That's the scary part," said Staff Sgt. Don Coleman of the vice unit.
While street prostitution makes up only 10 per cent of the city's sex trade, Calgary's less visible prostitution network was exposed in December when the city's first charges of human trafficking were laid.
Separate investigations revealed websites were used to bring victims and johns to local bawdy houses and motels.
In one case, a local man was luring would-be models from across the country to Calgary, where they ended up working instead as prostitutes in motels.
The other case centred around a woman accused of running a website advertising sex with young women. Police allege she was booking appointments and directing men to three bawdy houses as she worked at a nearby hair salon.
Man charged with human trafficking in Calgary
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