Human trafficking sentencing in Saskatchewan sets provincial precedent

A Saskatchewan judge sentenced two Bengali men to four and 14 years in prison for human trafficking, in what Crown prosecutors call a precedent-setting case.

Saskatchewan human trafficking case sets new sentencing benchmark

Global News Crime reports that Judge Miguel Martinez has sentenced Sohel Hadiar to four years in prison and Muhammad Musam to 14 years on charges of human trafficking and sexual assault, concluding a case that Crown prosecutors say will reshape how such cases are prosecuted in Saskatchewan.

Senior Crown prosecutor Leslie Dunning said the province had no prior human trafficking cases to draw on during proceedings. "We didn't cite any Saskatchewan human trafficking cases — all of what we cited mainly came out of Ontario," Dunning said. "So this is one of the precedent-setting cases for human trafficking in the province."

The judge found that Hadiar and Musam, both Bengali men, deliberately exploited the vulnerability of a Bengali woman identified only as S.K. to protect her identity. The men withheld her citizenship documentation and threatened to cancel her work permit as tools of control. Court heard they forced S.K. to work up to 12 hours a day, six days a week, for very little pay.

The two moved S.K. between the Saskatchewan communities of Gull Lake, Elrose and Tisdale to work at their restaurants. Both men were ordered to pay S.K. restitution of more than $17,000.

The court also received S.K.'s victim impact statement, in which she described lasting psychological harm. "I don't think much about my future anymore and focus on keeping my head down," she wrote. She also questioned how her traffickers could treat a fellow Bengali woman that way for money.

S.K. said her family in Bangladesh is aware of the abuse and faces significant public scrutiny as a result. Her mother, she said, has asked why she ever tried to come to Canada — a question S.K. said she asks herself as well.

Source: Global News Crime