Man arrested for trafficking 21-year-old woman throughout GTA, southwestern Ontario: police

Toronto police say they have arrested a man accused of recruiting a 21-year-old woman into the sex trade and trafficking her throughout the Greater Toronto Area and southwestern Ontario.

According to police, in May 2024, the service launched an investigation into a report of human trafficking between 2019 and 2020.

Police allege that a 21-year-old woman was groomed and recruited into the sex trade as an escort.

“Through a combination of physical violence, manipulation, deception, coercion, and threats of violence, the woman was controlled and exploited in the sex trade,” police said in a news release issued Wednesday.

The money she earned, police said, was turned over to the accused.

A suspect, identified by police as Abubakar Omar Sharif, a 37-year-old Toronto resident, was subsequently arrested. He has been charged with a number of offences, including trafficking in persons, procuring/ exercising control, assault by choking, sexual assault, and uttering a death threat.

Police have released a photo of the suspect, indicating that they believe there may be more victims who have not yet come forward.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the case to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.