Sask. MLA had assistant drive alleged human trafficking victim to shelter, court hears

A former staffer for a Saskatchewan Party MLA told court he was asked to transport an alleged human trafficking victim from a basement in Elrose to a women’s shelter in Swift Current.

Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider were each charged on June 29, 2023 with one count of human trafficking, and Masum has an additional three charges of sexual assault.

The charges stem from allegations that the two men hired a Bangledeshi woman to work in three Saskatchewan restaurants in Elrose, Gull Lake, and Tisdale where she only kept a fraction of her wages and experienced sexual abuse and blackmail. The defence has alleged the woman fabricated the sexual assault allegations in a bid to stay in Canada.

The complainant, whose name is protected under a publication ban, says she agreed to work in the restaurants in exchange for a salary, and room and board. While briefly working in an Elrose restaurant, the woman testified she was given a bed in a cold and dirty unfinished basement.

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The trial resumed Monday as Sean Checkley took the stand.

Checkley worked in the office of MLA Doug Steele at the time — one of two current and former Saskatchewan Party MLAs who conspired to help the woman who police say is a victim of human trafficking.

He testified he was asked to help relocate the woman from a home in Elrose to a women’s shelter in Swift Current.

Checkley testified he drove to the Elrose address at the direction of Doug Steele and helped the woman load her belongings into his vehicle. He offered a description of the basement where the victim was living at the time, which he says he saw for a few minutes.

“The downstairs was a wooden staircase, which lead to a unframed cement floor basement, which was cold, with very little lighting. In that basement there was a shower that did not have walls around...shower didn’t have a curtain on it either,”

Checkley described the victim’s demeanor as timid, shy, and exhausted, with a clear sense of urgency to leave the house.

“Initially very nervous, and in a state of hurry to get out of there,”

The witness testified that while the victim’s English was limited, she thanked him multiple times during the hour-long drive to Swift Current.

After ensuring the alleged victim was safely with staff in the shelter, Checkley recalled returning to Steele’s office and giving a statement to RCMP.

He testified that after the ordeal, he felt it should have been a police matter.

“Originally I did question why ... I didn’t have much information at all but after seeing the seriousness [the complainant] took it, I questioned to myself why I was there instead of RCMP,”

It is still unclear as to how Steele initially came in contact with the alleged victim.

The trial continues this week.