Barrie man sentenced to 15 years for trafficking women with 'Nite Candy' escort business

WARNING: Readers may find content in this article disturbing.

The Barrie man found guilty earlier this year of trafficking women as part of his escort business, Nite Candy, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

Mark Taylor appeared old and grey from behind the glass of the prisoner's box in a Barrie courtroom on Tuesday as Justice Annette Casullo said he had "created and nurtured environments that were particularly dangerous."

Taylor was found guilty of 18 charges, including human trafficking, sexual assault, benefitting from sexual services, and procuring a person to provide sexual services.

Seven young women came forward to police with accounts of being recruited, coerced and trafficked by Taylor.

Five women provided victim impact statements to the court, describing similar experiences about being pimped out by Taylor and feeling exploited, degraded, manipulated, and fearful of retribution.

Mark Taylor, of Barrie, Ont., was found guilty of operating the escort business 'Nite Candy.' (Source: Instagram)

The court heard how he preyed upon women, feeding their drug addictions and taking advantage of their frailties. He threatened young mothers and exposed them to the Children's Aid Society as sex workers to maintain control over them.

Casullo said the now 52-year-old Taylor "callously used their bodies for financial gain and his own sexual gratification."

While Taylor was credited with four and a half years for custody before sentencing, Casullo delivered a consecutive sentence, telling him despite knowing what he was doing was illegal, he continued to operate the Nite Candy escort business, creating a ranking system for the women.

Casullo said Taylor abused his position as the boss of the sophisticated, well-organized escort company for about a decade, while the Crown said its conservative estimate had Taylor making roughly $1.7 million between 2012 and 2022.

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The women said they had to buy condoms and were exposed to sexually transmitted diseases.

Casullo said Taylor's actions "profoundly and perhaps permanently impacted" the women.

The Barrie judge characterized the result of Taylor's actions on the women as "a tsunami," adding he operated a "revolving door of desolation."

Taylor was arrested in March 2020 alongside two others - a woman from Angus, Carrie Asmann-Brown, the company's dispatcher, and his nightly driver, Sal Buccellato. Each was found guilty of materially benefitting from sexual services and sentenced to 12 months.

Taylor was released and rearrested six months later and has remained jailed since then.

Following his release, Taylor is banned from having a weapon for 10 years and will be listed on the sex offender registry for 20 years.