Innisfil Pride founder facing allegations of serious sexual offences

Innisfil man faces sexual offence allegations The lawyer for Innisfil’s Pride founder speaks out about serious allegations of sexual offences against his client.

Jake Tucker founded Innisfil Pride and ran as an independent candidate for Barrie-Innisfil in the provincial election, and now Tucker is facing allegations of serious sexual offences.

Police arrested Tucker in Barrie in April for offences that allegedly happened between 2017 and 2021, including exploitation, profiting from sexual services, trafficking an individual, and assault.

"I've known Jake professionally for some time, and he is an upstanding citizen. These charges are false. They are completely false," said Tucker's defence lawyer Matthew Giesinger from inside his Bradford Street office in Barrie on Wednesday.

"Jake is very concerned about the charges, but at this stage, the only comment I can make is that he strenuously denies the allegations. There's absolutely no truth to them," Giesinger said.

The identity of the complainant is protected under a publication ban. Now Tucker's lawyer is seeking a publication ban for his client.

"Unfortunately, due to the publicity that these charges have brought, Jake Tucker has been experiencing fear in the community, and as such, he is seeking a common law publication band to cover himself so that no future information about these charges will be made public," the defence lawyer said.

According to court documents, the 35-year-old is accused of exploiting and exercising control, direction or influence over the movement of the complainant while financially benefitting from the alleged trafficking.

The matter returns to court later this month.

The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.