Kailey Oliver-Machado was 15 years old when she was arrested for recruiting girls through social media sites, then drugging and beating them to force them into prostitution. Calling her actions “despicable,” Justice Diane Lahaie sentenced her to 6 ½ years in prison. Considering time already served, Oliver-Machado still has three years to serve.
Normally in Canada, a teenager would get a lighter, youth sentence with a maximum of three years. It is rare for a person under 18 to be sentenced as an adult. But in this case, the judge said a youth sentence would not properly reflect the serious nature of the crime, nor would it hold the perpetrator accountable for what she did.
Oliver-Machado had been found guilty of 27 charges including human trafficking, sexual assault, as well as making and possessing child pornography. Two other teens entered guilty pleas for their roles in the violent pimping operation.
Police investigators said the families of the victims were “very happy” with the decision. Ottawa police Det. Carolyn Botting said it would not have been possible if not for five of the victims who came forward, and she added “this never would have happened if men stopped buying young girls for sex.”
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