Innisfil human trafficking case suspects appear in court
Several men accused of trafficking women at an Innisfil residence before being arrested by South Simcoe police late last year appeared in court on Thursday.
Among them is Oneil Hopkinson, a 38-year-old with ties to Newmarket and Brampton whom police say turned himself in last fall. Along with being accused of advertising sexual services and benefitting from sexual services, Hopkinson is also charged with sexual assault.
On Thursday, his coaccused Tyrone Dias also appeared from the jail in Penetanguishene. This comes about a week after police announced that Dias’ sister was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to interfere in the case against her brother, who was denied bail.
South Simcoe police say Samantha Davenport tried to pay an alleged victim in the case to act as a surety for Dias to get him out of custody.
Hung Lam, Joseph Carvalho and Edgar Martinez were represented in virtual court in Bradford on Thursday.
They were each granted bail after being charged with several sex and drug trafficking counts, including procuring, advertising, and materially benefitting from sexual services.
Royden Reis of Barrie was also charged in the Project Chameleon bust with four counts of drug possession for trafficking a controlled substance.
Jashyna Singh of Brampton remains behind bars, charged with trafficking the women for sex along with drugs. Singh is scheduled to be back in court on Friday.
Defence lawyers for the accused are trying to reach an agreement regarding the evidence investigators have concerning their clients.
Police said two residences were searched in November, alleging they seized $30,000 worth of drugs. Investigators also confirmed three women were safely removed from the home.
Lam, Carvalho and Martinez are scheduled to return to court in May; their coaccused next week.
The allegations against all of the accused mentioned have not been tested in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.