A pimp landed her a job with Cachet Ladies in 2007 when she was 17, said Stephanie โ not her real name. Soon after, she became hooked on cocaine, and routinely found herself having to meet men โ paying customers โ in hotel rooms.
Many of the other 40-or-so girls were also controlled by pimps, plied with drugs and pressured into providing sex to men paying high fees, she said.
โNinety percent of the girls work for a pimp, (because) the pimpโs trail is less traceable through the agency,โ Stephanie insisted.
She alleged that escorts at the agency engaged in drug use. Josh Mfizi was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2008 for his abusive manoeuvring of Stephanie into prostitution. Court also heard it was Mfizi who introduced Stephanie to Cachet Ladies.
The agencyโs lawyer, Gregory Leslie, said Stephanieโs accusations simply arenโt true.
Illegal drugs are not allowed at Cachet, said Leslie. The agency protects women from pimps, and only hires women who are of legal age with valid identification to prove it. โThey donโt allow drugs at all at work โ or on calls,โ he said. โNumerous women have been fired for partaking in drug use ... Absolutely no drugs are allowed.โ
Many escort agencies prey on โvulnerableโ young girls, many who have fled abusive homes and turned to life on the streets, or have addictions, said Kim Snow, a professor at Ryerson Universityโs school of child and youth care.
โKids in this situation are very often victims,โ said Snow. โThey lack natural connections and community supports, whether that be parents or caring next of kin ... And then once theyโre on the street, they often turn to drug abuse to cope with the victimization and use (prostitution) as a way of supporting that habit.โ
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/03/22/17717661.html