Accused in Moncton-area human trafficking case facing 14 new charges

Saphira Bastien, 19,made an appearancein Monctonprovincial court on Tuesday, havingbeen in custody since April, when she was first arrested and accused of human trafficking.

Originally facingfour charges, including two counts of exercising control over the movements of a person under the age of 18 for the purpose of facilitating their exploitation, 14 more have since been added.

The new charges include three counts of recruiting a person to provide sexual services, two counts of materially benefiting from trafficking a person under age 18, and two counts of sexual assault, among others.

The preliminary inquiry for the case was set to begin on Tuesday but the Crown prosecutor, Marc-Andr Desjardins, sought a direct indictment, which would sendthe case directly to trial.

Bastien's lawyer, Daniel Gallant, was not present Tuesday morning, and Bastien saidshe was "in the dark" about what was going on with her case.

Gallant was reached eventually via phone, and Bastien elected for her trial to take place in front of a judge and jury.

Two had been reported missing in Ontario

RCMP previously said that Bastien was charged afterthree people were rescued as part of an investigation into human trafficking.

Police said officers were called to check on a young woman on Ward Street inMoncton on April 12 whohad been reported missing in Ontario.

"The investigation later revealed that she had been brought to the area and was a victim of human trafficking," the RCMP statement said at the time.

Then on April 16, RCMP say officers were called to a residence in Dieppe where another young female, also missing from Ontario, was found. Police say she was also believed to be a victim of trafficking.

An adult from Quebec, also described as a trafficking victim by police, was also found at the Dieppe location.

Bastien was arrested April 16 at the location onGauvin Road and charged the following day.

Judge Claude Hach set Bastien's next court appearance for Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m. At that time she will appear in front of the Court of King's Bench and a trial date will be set.

In the meantime, she's under conditions not to speak with eight different peopleand will remain in custody.