B.C. woman gets 13 years for child sex trafficking, assault and kidnapping
Jennifer Stephens, convicted in a child sex trafficking case in British Columbia, was sentenced Thursday to 13 years in prison by B.C. Supreme Court.
B.C. woman sentenced to 13 years in child sex trafficking and assault case
A British Columbia woman convicted on multiple charges in a child sex trafficking case has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, thestar.com reports.
Jennifer Stephens pleaded guilty to unlawful confinement, assault causing bodily harm, sexual assault with a weapon, advertising sexual services, and materially benefiting from sexual services provided by a person under 18. The sentence was handed down Thursday by B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster.
The B.C. Prosecution Service confirmed that Stephens has also been ordered to submit a DNA sample, register with the National Sex Offender Registry for 20 years, and comply with a 10-year firearms ban. Having received credit for time already served in pre-sentence custody, she has approximately 8½ years remaining to serve.
The Crown had sought the full 13-year term, while Stephens's defence lawyer argued for seven years with credit for time served.
Police in Langley, B.C., opened the investigation in February 2023, following a phone number connected to a 13-year-old girl who had been trafficked in Alberta and Kelowna. An agreed statement of facts read at an earlier sentencing hearing detailed how the girl's services had been advertised on LeoList, an online escort platform. Photographs posted on the site led officers to locate victims at a hotel in Langley.
Impact statements from victims, presented at the earlier sentencing hearing, described both physical and psychological trauma that they said would take a lifetime to overcome.
Graphic videos played during proceedings in B.C. Supreme Court prompted Justice Terence Schultes to warn those present to reconsider watching if they were not, in his words, "battle-hardened by criminal proceedings." The footage showed Stephens pistol-whipping a man, a woman being struck with a curtain rod, and a man being sexually assaulted with the barrel of a firearm. Additional videos depicted a man being forced to insert body parts into a desk fan and a woman crawling on the floor while being made to eat dog food.
This report is based on a Canadian Press story first published November 5, 2026.
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)