'I'm a criminal,' says accused human trafficker who denies holding sex slave hostage

Accused human trafficker Jessica Vinje testified that the woman she is accused of beating and forcing to work as a sex slave was actually using her apartment as a place to bring escorting clients.

Vinje, 30, who is on trial on charges ofhuman trafficking, forcible confinement, sexual assault and assault, testifiedin her own defence Tuesday.

Twounderage teens have already pleaded guilty to charges including human trafficking and forcible confinement.

A publication ban protects the victim's identity. CBC News is identifying her as KM.

Vinje testified that in December 2017 she was living in a downtown Calgary apartment that cost more than $1,000 per month but with subsidies was paying only $380.

• Sex trafficking victim 'feared for her life' while being held captive for 5 days in Calgary apartment

At that time, Vinje said, she was "always high" on meth and heroin.

'I'm a criminal'

When asked why she wasn't employed, Vinje said "well, I'm institutionalized," explaining that she has spent most of her adult life in jails and prisons.

"I was doing fraud," she told her lawyer Rebecca Snukal, explaining she and her friends were using fraudulent credit cards to pay for things like food and cabs.

"I'm a criminal," said Vinje.

But that criminality did not extend to the five days KM said she was held captive in Vinje's apartment.

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"Did you ever force her to have sex for money?" asked defence lawyer Rebecca Snukal.

"No," Vinje replied.

She told Court of Queen's Bench Justice Scott Brooker that KM was free to leave any time and denied the regular beatings KM said she suffered.

Video shows victim fleeing

KM testified that in December 2017 she was working as an escort and arranged to meet a client at Vinje's address. Once there, a young male brought her up to Vinje's apartment, where KM said she was beaten and forced at gunpoint into a tiny room.

There, KM said, she was held for five days, beaten regularly, fed only twice and forced to have sex with men for money, which she said Vinji kept.

Five days in, KM said, she noticed everyone was sleeping so she took the opportunity to run, fleeing the apartment building.

Video shows KM running shoeless, in a tank top into the liquor store across the street where she hid under a counter until police arrived and took her to hospital.

• 'She was crying': Calgary liquor store employee helped save sex trafficking victim, court hears

According toVinje, she met KM in December 2017 through a close friend. On the day they met, Vinje said, she took KM to themutual friend's house where they all did drugs.

Then, Vinje said, KM asked if she could use her apartment for a day so she could line up escorting dates.

Vinje said she agreed even though she had known KM for only a matter of hours.

For the next few days, Vinje said, the woman would come and go from her apartment, leaving up to five times a day to buy more drugs.

• Victim of 5 days of rapes and beatings says experience 'scared me straight'

Three or four teens would regularly stay with Vinje and she said at least two of them would call her "mom."

Vinje, whose own child is in her mother's care,testified she began collecting young people, feeding them and letting them live in her apartment.

"I felt like if I had better connections when I was younger, I maybe would have turned out better. I just didn't want them to go down that road," said Vinje. "I thought I was helping."

Two videos were found on one of the teen's cellphones. They show KM performing sexual acts on a man while others in the room laugh and make fun of her. KM identified one of the voices as Vinje's but the accused denied it was her.

On Dec. 13,2017, Vinje took one of her young friends to his court date, and when she returned, police had her apartment building surrounded, she said. Adozenofficers werein the lobby, so she fled, Vinje said.

"Being a criminal and my drug use or whatever, anyone that does crime or whatever they get sketched out if they see cops," said Vinje, who eventually turned herself in after police released her photo and issued warrants for her arrest.

Prosecutor Donna Spaner will begin her cross-examination of Vinje on Wednesday morning.