St. Thomas, Ont. music teacher charged with sexual assault, trafficking
A St. Thomas, Ont. man is facing several human trafficking-related charges following a police investigation.
Police say they were contacted by a female victim who reported she had been trafficking for several months in 2014 by a man she met when she was a minor.
Detectives from the St. Thomas Police Service's Street Crimes Unit, Criminal Investigations Bureau and Internet Child Exploitation Unit investigated for several months before making an arrest.
On Thursday, 59-year-old Eugene Andre Francois of St. Thomas was arrested without incident and his Talbot Street apartment was searched.
He has been charged with:
- sexual assault
- sexual exploitation
- traffic in persons under the age of 18 years
- material benefit resulting from trafficking in persons
- possession of child pornography
Police say Francois is known to have provided music lessons in the city and had regular contact with minors. They believe there may be other victims.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-631-1224 or Crime Stoppers anonymously and refer to case #ST21002500.
None of the charges have been proven in court.
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