Alleged human traffickers from Simcoe County headed to trial
Alleged human traffickers Lauriston and Amber Maloney appear headed for trial this summer.
Defence lawyer Mark Ruffolo appeared in court Wednesday morning to confirm trial dates for the couple from Essa Township who were arrested last summer.
The Maloneys face charges including trafficking a person, assault, forcible confinement, administering a noxious substance and fraud.
CTV News will not be identifying the person listed in the charging documents.
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The couple was arrested on July 19, 2023, a day after the OPP released a rare public safety advisory warning that Lauriston Maloney, a registered sex offender who about 20 years ago was convicted of trafficking an underage girl, was in the community and may have had access to children at a camp for kids on the autism spectrum.
That camp - called Beating the Odds - was opened by his wife on a two-acre farm in Essa Township in 2022.
Lauriston Maloney also runs a local construction and renovation company.
Police have confirmed, however, that children attending the camp are not victims in this investigation.
Amber Maloney was granted bail and released to her parents, who pledged $10,000 as sureties.
Maloney was granted bail with his father, who served as a surety.
Shortly before his arrest in July 2023, Lauriston Maloney told CTV News he is not a predator and maintains a conviction for trafficking an underage girl in 2004 in Mississauga as part of an escort business. Maloney insisted the 14-year-old girl lied to him about her age.
The allegations against Lauriston and Amber Maloney have not been tested in court; they are scheduled to make their next appearance in April.
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