More victims come forward in rural sex trafficking investigation: Manitoba RCMP

Manitoba RCMP allege three more underage girls were victimized as part of the suspected sex- and drug-trafficking ring they first reported 10 days ago.

On July 9, the Mounties’ Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit announced it had arrested seven suspects and laid 65 charges in connection with the exploitation of two 15-year-old girls in Portage la Prairie, a small city an hour west of Winnipeg.

Now RCMP say charges against one man, 34-year-old Scott Joseph Taylor, have been stayed after it was determined he was not involved.

However, three more girls have come forward.

“With the ongoing investigation, and with the assistance of the public and the media after the press conference held regarding this investigation, three additional victims have come forward to police,” the RCMP said in an email Friday.

The investigation began in February after someone reported seeing a young girl with older men in town. Police allege a woman, whom the girls trusted, introduced them to men who sexually assaulted them in exchange for drugs between June 2023 and December 2023.

“On many occasions, the youth was locked in the location by the adult female, who remained through the entire interaction, and they could not escape,” RCMP alleged in a news release.

“The youth would perform the sexual acts and receive the drugs, and sometimes currency, from the adult male. The adult female would also receive payment in the form of drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine.”

Kirandeep Hira, a constable with the ICE unit, said this type of crime is happening all over Manitoba.

“We all need to do our part to protect those victimized by traffickers,” she said in the release. “If you see something, say something.”

One woman from Long Plain First Nation, 14 km southwest of Portage la Prairie, and five men from Portage la Prairie were arrested and face charges that include sex trafficking, drug trafficking and possessing child pornography.