21 charged in sexual-exploitation bust

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This article was published 12/06/2024 (516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Twenty-one men in Brandon were arrested on June 7 and 8 as part of a police operation targeting sexual exploitation in the city.

Called Project Blockade, the joint operation involved Brandon Police Service, the RCMP and the Winnipeg Police Service’s Counter Exploitation Unit.

The focus was on street-level and online sexual exploitation, BPS said in a Tuesday media release.

The suspects were charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration — agreeing to trade cash or another kind of payment in exchange for sex, BPS public information officer Sgt. Dana McCallum said in a phone interview.

They were arrested either on the street in downtown Brandon or in local hotels in various neighbourhoods, though McCallum said she did not have a list of those facilities.

All 21 men have been released on undertakings and will make their first appearances in court on Nov. 4, McCallum said.

Nine vehicles were seized from suspects under a provision of Manitoba’s Highway Traffic Act that allows police to impound vehicles they suspect were used in committing a prostitution-related offence.

“Vehicles were seized if the person that was arrested was in a vehicle at the time of the offence,” McCallum said.

According to McCallum, police aren’t aware of anyone selling sexual services relating to this investigation being hurt, but that the exchange of money or drugs with someone in a vulnerable position can be considered exploitation.

As for the online elements of the investigation, McCallum said it came from people “replying to an ad looking to obtain sexual services for payments and then follow through with that action.”

She said the involvement of the WPS came from an initial partnership for Project Beckon, a 2019 operation that led to 20 prostitution-related arrests. From the three agencies, she said about 25 total officers were involved.

“We involved Winnipeg Police Service because they had been doing projects such as these for many years and were very experienced in these types of operations,” McCallum said.

“The RCMP was also interested in learning how these are done and so they got involved last year, I believe, when we did Project Block. This is the third one that we have done in Brandon … This type of project is looking to target sexual exploitation in our community as we have realized that this is a problem and we’re looking to combat it.”

Project Block resulted in 21 arrests in June 2023.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service said by email that it did not have any comment on its involvement in the operation and directed questions to BPS.

RCMP Cpl. Julie Courchaine said by email that BPS led the investigation and the Mounties assisted.

“We were happy to work with our policing partners on this project and will continue to work together to combat crime and increase safety for all Manitobans,” Courchaine said.

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