14-Year-Old B.C. Girl Prostituted Herself, Others On Craigslist: RCMP

A 14-year-old British Columbia girl has been charged for allegedly prostituting herself and pimping out other girls through the online classified site Craigslist.

Acting on a tip last month, police began looking into allegations a teenage girl was selling sexual services and recruiting others into the sex trade.

In online ads posted on Craigslist’s controversial erotic services section, which has already come under criticism from the federal justice minister, the girl was posing as an 18-year-old woman available for sex.

“She was the ringleader,” said Chilliwack RCMP Cpl. Lea-Anne Dunlop. “It’s something that’s unfortunate to see.”

While there’s a ban on publication because of the girls’ ages, Dunlop said the accused teenager knew the other teens she is accused of recruiting. The girl faces one count of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.

Dunlop said Thursday more charges could be laid as Mounties continue their investigation and the media interest may also prompt others lured into the sex trade to come forward.

A 51-year-old man, David Hilpert of Chilliwack, has also been charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection to the case.

Chilliwack, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, is in the heart of B.C.’s so-called Bible Belt in the Fraser Valley and is mostly known as a farming community.

Police say the Craigslist ad has been removed and the website operators have been fully co-operative with the police investigation.

Earlier this month, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said he sent a letter to executives at Craigslist, saying he was concerned the online erotic services section encourages child exploitation and human trafficking.

Ontario’s Attorney General Chris Bentley went one step further, saying Craigslist should remove prostitution-related advertisements from its websites. The website removed those ads in the United States in September.

In a statement, B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman said he was appalled by the case.

“The incident speaks to the importance of parents educating themselves and their children about the dangers of the Internet and the sex trade, and the need to report any suspicious activity or behaviour to a person of authority,” Coleman said.

Dunlop said there’s no doubt the Internet has made it easier to buy and sell sex.

“It’s basically taken something like the sex trade and provided people an opportunity to make that initial connection from their own home, possibly a mobile phone, anywhere at any time.”

Dunlop said the charges are an important message to parents to start talking to their teens about such risks.

“First of all, everyone is at risk for sexual exploitation, young females, young males, there’s no particular sort of perfect set of circumstances that you will know if you should be concerned or not,” she said.

Dunlop said teens need the armour of knowledge that parents can provide to them for protection, before their friends introduce them to sex, or possibly even the sex trade.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today