Man charged with keeping brothel in Kitchener hotel

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

From The Record, 18 Dec 2009, by Cherri Greeno:

KITCHENER ? A Toronto man is expected to make a court appearance this morning after being charged with keeping a common bawdy house inside a Kitchener hotel.

 

Waterloo Regional Police say they discovered a brothel, inside a hotel room Tuesday after receiving a tip that a missing Kitchener woman was seen there.

 

?Information they received when they arrived at the hotel led them to be suspicious that illegal sexual activities were taking place, which prompted further investigation,? said Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel.

 

?This is very rare. We don?t have too many kinds of these incidents,? Heinzel said.

 

When officers went to a specific hotel room they found three women and a man inside. The women ? two from Toronto and one from Kitchener ? were between the ages of 15 and 20.

 

Police allege that money was exchanged for sex in the hotel room.

 

Heinzel would not say what hotel the bawdy house was found in.

 

Police say there was no indication that the women were forcibly confined. One of the Toronto women has been charged with possession of drugs.

 

The women were all taken away from the hotel.

 

A 25-year-old Toronto man, aged 25, was arrested and charged with personation, obstruct police, procuring and keeping a common bawdy-house.

 

The personation and obstruct police charge was laid after police allege the man gave false information about who he was at the time of his arrest.

 

Canada?s Criminal Code refers to a common bawdy-house as a place that is kept or occupied for the purpose of prostitution or the practice of acts of indecency.

 

Heinzel said this case is part of an ongoing investigation into illegal sexual activities within the region.

 

?Although this particular situation is rare, our overall goal is to identify illegal sexual activities,? in the area, he said.

 

The charged man is expected to make a video appearance in Kitchener court this afternoon.

Update (http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/646684):

Court documents show the address as 2960 King St. E., Kitchener, which is the location of the Radisson Hotel.

 

A manager at the hotel refused comment Friday.

[Mister C 1725]

A 25-year-old Toronto man, aged 25, was arrested and charged with personation, obstruct police, procuring and keeping a common bawdy-house.

 

I guess they really wanted to get the point across he was 25. I miss Kitchener. Born and raised there.

[jg24 3708]

Well the girls age is what bothers me if there was a 15yr old in the room working throw the book at this jackass.

 

There is no place in this hobby for guys or girls who use underage kids to benifit from it is just plain WRONG.

 

I know if I go somewhere and the girl looks at all under aged I bail.

[mod 135640]

That I am sure is what drew the attention of the police!! and it should... that is exactly what the laws were intended to do. Get the pimps (especially the ones who prey off young women) behind bars. This gives our whole industry a bad rep as it adds to the negative stereotype... If someone catches the results of this court hearing please post them.

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Brian Caldwell reports for The Record, 14 Apr 2010:

 

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/698314

KITCHENER ? A man who introduced a 16-year-old girl to prostitution at a Kitchener hotel was sentenced Wednesday to the equivalent of nine months in jail.

 

James Lightbody, 26, of Toronto pleaded guilty to procuring after three men went to the Radisson Hotel on King Street East to have oral sex and intercourse with the Kitchener teen for money.

 

Court heard the men responded to an advertisement on an online dating website [....]

 

The teen was promised a share of $490 paid by the men, but didn?t get any money before Waterloo Regional Police busted the business on Dec. 14.

 

Lightbody rented two rooms at the hotel after travelling to Kitchener from Toronto with the teen and two other young women ? his 15-year-old girlfriend and his brother?s 20-year-old girlfriend.

 

The teen was a friend of his young girlfriend, who was also from Kitchener.

 

On the way here, Lightbody talked to the teen and told her she could make money by selling sex.

 

Police discovered Lightbody at the hotel with the three women after his girlfriend?s concerned mother called to report that she had just visited her.

 

Lightbody initially faced several other charges, including operating a bawdy house, but they were dropped in court.

 

Defence lawyer Stephanie Krug said the three women would have been ?reluctant witnesses? had the case gone to trial.

 

?There were never any threats, force or pressure put on (the teen),? Krug said.

 

Lightbody grew up in foster care and has two young sons. Justice Colin Westman said he should think about them before repeating his crimes when he gets out of custody.

 

?Just ask yourself a simple question,? Westman said. ?Would you want that for your children??

 

Lightbody has been in custody since his arrest ? time generally credited on a two-for-one basis. That leaves him with just 45 days to serve.

 

He was also placed on probation for 15 months and ordered not to have any contact with the two teenagers involved.