According to the Granby police service, young men are between 15 and 20 years old.
“They would meet groups or young girls alone in public places. They are young girls aged 12, 13 or 14, and they approach them with the aim of recruitment for sexual exploitation, “explains Marc Farand, agent for prevention and public and community relations.
Teenagers are recruited in places such as sports halls, cultural, leisure places or in parks.
“Wherever adolescent girls can find themselves in summer,” adds Mr. Farand.
A new practice for the region
This is not the first time that Granby’s police have heard of pimping. On the other hand, in recent years, the information had mainly come from the platforms that teenagers use.
“It was a lot on social networks, we had information that it was done a lot on these platforms. We are talking about Snapchat, Instagram and popular networks for young people, ”explains Mr. Farand.
The agent adds that by prevention in schools, he no longer heard a lot about pimping, but “that it was still done in Granby, on a smaller scale”.
To have a network from a criminal group, it’s been several years since it had been seen in Granby.
For his part, Linda Gagnon, project manager in sexual exploitation at the Calacs of Haute-Yamaska Brome-Missisquoi rivers mentions that the phenomenon also takes on expansion in the region.
“There have been some in several secondary schools, in public places and there, in Brome-Missisquoi, they saw an increase in recruitment in June, the situation arrives in our two territories.”
Traps to avoid
Young girls are generally approached by young men by being offered all kinds of gifts.
“The guys make compliments, they give gifts, pay a meal, offer outings. The bond of trust is made between criminal groups and young girls, ”says Farand.
According to him, the role of parents is to observe the behavior of their daughters.
“They can change groups of friends, it can also be a teenager who isolates herself, who brings gifts which she cannot pay for. There is also hypersexualization and a change in lifestyle. Parents can be attentive to these behaviors. ”
— Marc Farand, prevention agent and public and community relations.
Ms. Gagnon also asks to pay attention to a few other forms of behavior.
“There is also a servitude of debts. For example, I paid you an outing with food, I paid you a phone, in exchange, you owe me sexual services, “she explains.
In addition, love scenarios are also possible.
“He will make the girl fall in love with him and then bring her to the exploitation. We hear it a lot. There is also the use of other women who are in the spot. They will desensitize the young person to everything related to sexual exploitation. ”
If young girls feel that they are taken in a gear or if they have doubts, the calacs is available to protect and advise them, as well as the Directorate of Youth Protection (DPJ).
“If someone came out of nowhere tells you things that are too beautiful to be true, young girls must listen to and use their intuition. They must respect themselves and ask for help from someone confidence, ”says Ms. Gagnon in conclusion.
In addition, if a parent or even a teenager has doubts about their dating, it is possible to contact the Granby police service and validate with them.
It is also possible to do so confidentially by calling the body failure organization at 1 800 711-1800, or make an online report at www.echecaucrime.com
Mr. Farand confirms that the situation is taken in the seriousness and that an investigation is underway.
