Human trafficking is not just a big city problem, RCMP says | Globalnews.ca

“Human trafficking is not just something that happens elsewhere — it can and is happening all around us.”

That was the message from RCMP Sgt. Matt Pumphrey as he announced a 47-year-old Cochrane, Alta., man has been charged with human trafficking.

Pumphrey said the RCMP began investigating in February 2024 after a woman came forward claiming to be the victim of human and sex trafficking.

The woman claimed she met the accused over an online dating site and “after a brief consensual relationship the male began to traffick her online for monetary gain,” said Pumphrey.

“The male exploited nude photos of the victim, placing them on an internet site where other males would then contact the site to arrange for sexual services,” he added.

The RCMP say they were eventually able to identify other women who were able to corroborate the victim’s allegations against the accused.

On Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, the RCMP laid a series of charges against 47-year-old Darren Routhier who is a resident of Cochrane, including:

• Human trafficking
• Receiving financial benefits from the trafficking of a person
• Sexual assault causing bodily harm
• Unlawful confinement
• Extortion

Pumphrey said the victim showed showed “remarkable courage to come forward” and he’s urging any other potential victims to contact police.

“I believe that this is more common than we want to believe — that vulnerable women are being exploited in this way,” Pumphrey said.

“It’s common to think this is a Calgary issue. But this can happen anywhere.”

Country music singer Paul Brandt, who has been an outspoken champion in the efforts to combat sex trafficking through the “Not In My City” campaign, was also present for the RCMP announcement.

“Society generally sees (victims) as someone who may have chosen that,” said Brandt, “but what we know after seeing the entire life cycle of vulnerability in trafficking is this is actually a lack of choice.”

Brandt says human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar per year business and we need to “shift it from being a high profit, low risk to a high risk, low profit crime.”