Alberta's top court reinstates pimping-related convictions against sex trade workers' drivers

Alberta's top court has reinstated pimping-related convictions against two Calgary men who were employed as drivers for sex-trade workers. 

Following a trial, Mikhail Kloubakov and Hicham Moustaine were originally found guilty of benefiting financially from the proceeds of prostitution and being parties to procuring women into the sex trade. 

But after they were convicted, Kim Arial and Shannon Gunn Emery — lawyers for the two men — successfully challenged the constitutionality of the two sections of the Criminal Code.

The Crown then took the case to the Court of Appeal of Alberta. 

• Human trafficking probe nets 5 arrests as Calgary and Quebec police seek more victims

The province's top court considered the case in light of the 2013 landmark decision from the Supreme Court of Canada which struck down the country's prostitution-related laws and enacted new legislation criminalizing those who create a demand for prostitution.

Kloubakov and Moustaine were charged under new laws. 

Calgary police charge 5 men

In February 2020, Calgary police announced charges against five men; two of whom — Vincent-Olivier Marcheterre and Antoni Proietti — have since been convicted of human trafficking. 

Marcheterre and Proietti ran the escort business which started in Quebec. 

The two men moved some of the women to Alberta where they could charge higher fees for their services, according to evidence presented to Court of King's Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik at trial. 

Three others — Kloubakov, Moustaine and Sergei Dube-Cavalli — acted as Calgary-based drivers for the women. 

In June 2021, Dube-Cavalli pleaded guilty to his role in the operation and was handed a 28-month sentence. 

Pair must return to court for sentencing

Eidsvik originally ruled that Kloubakov and Moustaine were guilty, but sided with the defence lawyers who'd launched a constitutional challenge after the convictions. 

The judge stayed the convictions after finding that the section of the Criminal Code they'd been charged under was too broad and didn't differentiate between activities that were exploitative versus non-exploitive.

At the time, Eidsvik found the provision "continues to criminalize third parties who may be providing [security] services to sex workers in non-exploitative situations."

But this week, the higher court disagreed, ruling that only those who engage in exploitative behaviour are captured under the code. The appeal court found that the trial judge had "mischaracterized the purpose of these provisions and their effects."

Kloubakov and Moustaine must now return to the Court of King's Bench to be sentenced.