News Release
Man and Woman Arrested in Human Trafficking Investigation,
City of Toronto,
Images Released
The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of arrests made in a Human Trafficking investigation.
In April 2026, the Human Trafficking Unit commenced an investigation in the City of Toronto.
It is alleged that:
- through a combination of deception, coercion, and control, the accused trafficked a 23-year-old victim
- the money earned by the victim was surrendered over to the accused and was kept by them
- the victim was transported by the accused to different locations to meet clients to perform sexual services
On May 22, 2026, investigators executed a Criminal Code search warrant at an address in the City of Toronto.
Kailen Richard Wareham, 35, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
- Procuring
- Trafficking in persons over
- Financial/Material Benefit/Trafficking person over 18
- Withhold/Destroy Travel or identity document/Trafficking person
- Material Benefit from sexual services
- Advertising another person’s sexual services
- Utter threats
He was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 10 a.m., in Room 106.
Ava Ashouri, 27, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
- Procuring
- Trafficking in persons over
- Financial/Material Benefit/Trafficking person over 18
- Withhold/Destroy Travel or identity document/Trafficking person
- Material Benefit from sexual services
- Advertising another person’s sexual services
- Utter threats
She was scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Friday, May 22, 2026, at 10 a.m., in Room 106.
Police believe that there may be more victims.
Images of the accused parties have been released.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-4838 or [email protected], or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
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.
