Guilty Plea in Ontario Human Trafficking Case

UNCLAS TORONTO 000152 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV CA SUBJECT: Guilty Plea in Ontario Human Trafficking Case Sensitive But Unclassified - Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On May 13, 2008, a Niagara Falls, Ontario resident, Imrani Nakpamgi, pled guilty to two counts of human trafficking. The guilty plea represents the first successful prosecution under a 2005 law criminalizing certain prostitution-related human trafficking offenses in Canada. Nakpamgi was convicted of using intimidation and coercion to force two underage girls to perform sex acts for money in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The case is a positive signal that law enforcement agencies and public prosecutors recognize that the sex trade may involve human trafficking, even if in this case the victims were not smuggled across international or internal domestic borders. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) On May 13, 2008, a 26 year old Niagara Falls, Ontario resident, Imrani Nakpamgi, pled guilty to two counts of human trafficking and living off of the avails of prostitution. Nakpamgi admitted that he used threats and intimidation to force two teenage girls, initially aged 14 and 15 respectively, to provide prostitution related services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) for C$300 per hour from 2005 to 2007. ¶3. (U) Nakpamgi escorted and set up appointments for the two girls to perform sex acts for clients in various hotels in Mississauga and Brampton over a two year period. Crown prosecutors estimate Nakpamgi earned more than C$400,000 through the two girls, who had both been reported missing, the older one by her family and the younger one by Children's Aid Society. Investigators determined that the girls' services were being advertised via the internet. The court is scheduled to sentence Nakpamgi on May 26. We understand that he could face a sentence of up to 14 years in prison, or life. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The successful human trafficking conviction is a positive signal--after the failure of previous cases--that the new 2005 anti-trafficking laws can be an effective tool for law enforcement and prosecutors. Our recent conversations with Toronto-area law enforcement officers indicate that law enforcement officials at all levels are becoming more aware of and sensitive to the link between the sex industry and human trafficking (septel). END COMMENT. NAY