Vulnerable foster child forced into 'prostitution ring' and drug use, lawsuit alleges

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

A former foster child is suing the province of British Columbia, allegingthe Ministry of Children and Family Development[MCFD] failed to protect her when criminals sexually exploited her, coercedher to use street drugs and forced her into a "prostitution ring" in Prince George.

The civil claim was filed on April 18, 2023, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Prince George.

The claims have not been proven in court, and no statement ofdefence to the claim has yet been filed.

The lawsuit paints a grim picture of a vulnerable girl's alleged sexual exploitation while under ministry care more than 20 years ago.

The girl wastaken into foster care in Prince George at the age of 13, according to the lawsuit.

In 1999, the document claims theMCFDmoved her from a group home for teenagers and placed herina women's shelter in Prince George for adult women fleeing violence.

The girl was 15 years old at the time and alleges the ministry knew therewas no adult supervision of teenagers at the shelter.

While living there, the lawsuit alleges the girlwas introduced to people "who operated a prostitution enterprise" out of a house in Prince George's inner city in a"violent and criminal environment."

"The criminals, through a combination of ... drugs, alcohol, and various means of coercion, violence and threats, forced the Plaintiff into a life of prostitution and drug use."

Child's complaints ignored, lawsuit says

According to the lawsuit, the girl complained to ministry staff 'on multiple occasions" that she had been "forced or coerced into prostitution and become dependent on various street drugs" and asked staff to remove her from the house.

It states ministry employees "neglected or failed to assist her, even though they were told the girl "had been sexually used and assaulted."

It says the people running the house were eventually charged and convicted of numerous criminal offences, including "living off the avails of prostitution."

The girl stopped attending school andfell into a "devastating life of addiction, violence and prostitution"for more than five years.

The lawsuit states that after serving time in jail in her early 20s, she stopped using alcohol and drugs.

She is nowworking in the social services field.

It says the plaintiff has suffered numerous harms and injuries,including suicide attempts, post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, self-mutilation, eating disordersand alienation from family, friends, and community.

CBC News is not using the name of the woman who filed the lawsuitbecause she is the victim of an alleged sexual assault.

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.