Cops Allege Teens Forced into Prostitution in Gatineau

Josh Pringle
Thursday, August 7, 2008

A Gatineau couple is facing charges after Gatineau Police say three teens were forced into prostitution.

The Gang Street Unit launched an investigation last week after a 17-year-old girl escaped from a Gatineau apartment and told investigators she was forced into prostitution.

Police say three girls were confined at an apartment. Investigators allege clients went to an apartment for "sexual services" with the victims.

Constable Isabel Poirier tells CFRA News the girls were given crack cocaine and alcohol.

Poirier says the three girls were "recruited" from areas around women's shelters on Nelson Street and on Waller Street in Ottawa.

Two girls were held in the apartment for six months, while the third was confined for a year.

Poirier says the suspects are linked to street gangs, including the Ledbury-Banff Cripps gang in Ottawa.

33-year-old Gordon Kingsberry and 28-year-old Laura Emerson have been charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and living off the avails of prostitution.