The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of additional charges laid in a Human Trafficking investigation.

In June 2026, the Human Trafficking Unit commenced an investigation in the City of Toronto and City of Mississauga.

It is alleged that:

• through a combination of deception, coercion, and control, the accused trafficked a 32-year-old female victim
• the victim was forced to take sexualized pictures which were subsequently distributed online
• the money earned by the victim was surrendered over to the accused and was kept by him

See previous news release here.

Investigators previously announced the arrest of a male in relation to this investigation.

As a result of further investigation, additional charges have now been laid against the male.

In July of 2026, The Human Trafficking Unit commenced an investigation in the City of Toronto, and elsewhere in Ontario.

It is further alleged that:

• through a combination of deception, coercion, and control, the accused trafficked a 32-year-old female victim
• the victim was coerced into taking sexually explicit photographs, which were subsequently distributed online
• the money earned by the victim was surrendered over to the accused and was kept by him

On Thursday, July 30, 2026, Elijah Benjamin, 36, of Mississauga, was arrested and charged with:

1. Procuring
2. Trafficking in Persons by Recruiting
3. Advertising Another Person's Sexual Services
4. Living on Avails of Prostitution
5. Material Benefit from Sexual Services
6. Assault with a Weapon
7. two counts of Assault

He was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 10 a.m., in room 107.

In August of 2026, The Human Trafficking Unit commenced an investigation in the City of Toronto and City of Mississauga.

It is further alleged that:

• through coercion and control, the accused attempted to recruit a 31-year-old female into the sex trade
• the victim met the accused through an online dating app
• the victim was sexually assaulted by the accused on multiple occasions

On Friday, August 14, 2026, Elijah Benjamin, 36, of Mississauga, turned himself into police. He was arrested and charged with:

1. two counts of Sexual Assault
2. Procuring

He was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Friday, August 14, 2026, at 10 a.m., in room 107.

Police believe there may be more victims. Any victims are encouraged to contact police. 

The accused, Elijah Benjamin, was previously known as Eric Smart. He also uses the aliases Jay and Jason. It is alleged that the accused met all three victims on an online dating app.

An image of the accused has been released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-4838 or [email protected].

Human Trafficking means every person who recruits, transports, transfers, receives, holds, conceals or harbours a person, or exercises control, direction or influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation, for a sexual purpose or a forced labour purpose. Victims can be men, women or children; can be Canadian citizens; and can be moved across local, provincial or national borders. They can be coerced through violence or the threat of violence against family and friends. The Human Trafficking Unit of Sex Crimes is dedicated to investigating these crimes against vulnerable members of society. For more information, please visit the Sex Crimes website.

Police would like to encourage all affected individuals to come forward and report human trafficking occurrences to the police. We want to ensure everyone has access to support services and an exit strategy, regardless of their decision to proceed criminally.