Manitoba man beaten, threatened after wrongfully being charged in a alleged human trafficking ring

‘I had to go into hiding’ A Manitoba man wants a formal apology after he says he was wrongly charged in a human trafficking investigation. Daniel Halmarson reports

A man whose charges were stayed following an investigation into an alleged child sex trafficking ring in Portage la Prairie says his life has been ruined.

Scott Joseph Taylor, 34, was initially charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration from a person under 18, and unsafe storage of firearms. It was in connection with the investigation into an alleged sex trafficking RCMP announced on July 9. The investigation named seven individuals and 65 total charges.

Then, on July 19, the RCMP announced that the charges against Taylor were stayed, and sent a corrected statement to the media and the public.

“The Manitoba RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit has determined that Scott Joseph Taylor, 34, named in the initial release, was not involved in this occurrence,” the statement said in part. “As a result, all charges against Scott Joseph Taylor have been formally stayed in court.”

For Taylor, it was too little, too late.

“I had to go in hiding, literally had to go in hiding, and my house was vandalized," he said on Tuesday. "I had so many death threats, like an endless amount of threats."

Taylor said he was attacked as recently as Sunday, and the phrase “Certified Pedo” was spray painted on the front of his house.

Taylor said he didn't understand how he got caught up in the investigation and said he had nothing to do with the others arrested.

Matt Gould, Taylor's lawyer, believes that if the RCMP had taken more time to investigate, Taylor would not have been identified as a suspect.

"My opinion is and was that this information could be corroborated with very little time, effort, or energy," Gould said. "We're talking about corresponding issues to what was provided to the police. With this person that was identified as Scott Taylor, what does that person look like? Where does the person live? Who is that person hanging out with? How is that person connected to the complainant to the victim? All things that in some cases can be extraordinarily convoluted, but my impression in this case is it would not take very much time."

Gould said he didn't have all of the information from RCMP that resulted in the initial arrest.

He said Taylor is seeking a formal apology from the RCMP, and a civil lawsuit is being considered.

"We are bound equally to hold people accountable when a crime has been committed and to clear people when they are determined through investigation to have no involvement," RCMP said in a statement. "In this instance, investigators followed all appropriate investigative steps. All of the information at the time supported the search warrant and the charges.

"As the investigation progressed, investigators determined one of the accused was not involved. Immediate steps were taken to have charges stayed, and to inform the public and the media."

RCMP added they had not received any reports from Taylor about an assault or vandalism.

Taylor said he has not reported the assault or vandalism, saying he wants to get his life back on track.

A ministerial spokesperson released a statement on Wednesday, saying, “As this matter is currently under investigation, we will not be commenting.”

A spokesperson for the province also released a statement.

"The child exploitation charges against Mr. Taylor were laid by the RCMP and not referred to Manitoba Prosecution Service in advance," the spokesperson said. "Subsequently, as has been reported, defence counsel contacted the Crown’s office advising that his client had been misidentified. The Crown Attorney immediately contacted the RCMP to request that they conduct further investigation to ensure the RCMP had identified the right individual. After further investigation, RCMP advised the Crown that Mr. Taylor was not involved and the Crown Attorney then stayed the charges."