Top LGBT ‘pride’ organizer found guilty of human trafficking in Canada – LifeSite
(LifeSiteNews) — A prominent Canadian LGBT activist has been found guilty of human trafficking and assault after a trial lasting more than two weeks in Barrie, Ontario.
Jake Tucker, 39, is the founder and public of Innisfil Pride; the website still lists him as president as of this writing. According to the group: “The Innisfil Pride team is a reflection of our values: we were created to support 2SLGBTQ+, we welcome everyone with a positive, open, and encouraging mindset.” The verdict contrasted sharply from Tucker’s public positioning as an LGBT “philanthropist.”
Tucker, who is “married” to a man and procured a baby girl through surrogacy, has launched two unsuccessful independent provincial political runs, and has spearheaded a wide range of LGBT activist activities including flag-raisings at Innisfil Town Hall, “all ages” events, drag nights, and collaboration with local libraries and other community venues.
On April 29, after a six-hour jury deliberation, Tucker was found guilty of seven out of 10 human trafficking and assault charges, including the pimping of two women. He was acquitted on two counts of assault and one of sexual assault.
Tucker was charged with recruiting and controlling the women over a period of several years and profiting from prostituting them by finding johns and taking a share of the earnings. The jury accepted that the charges of “exploitation and financial gain” had been established beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to CTV, Tucker was first accused in 2022 when one of the two women alleged to police that Tucker had sex trafficked her for several years; the police located the second woman, who stated that she, too, had been victimized by Tucker. The Crown prosecutor alleged that Tucker had drugged them when they did not want to service johns; one stated that Tucker had used a taser on her. His actions were described as “coercive, aggressive, and violent.”
Tucker appeared in court for the verdict wearing a t-shirt reading “No More Stolen Sisters,” the slogan of the campaign to highlight violence against Indigenous women.
Tucker insists that he is innocent, that the women are lying, and that the police investigation was flawed. “I actually ran a swingers’ club, and I worked for a U-Haul, and a food truck and drove a school bus,” stated Tucker outside the courthouse after the verdict. “I feel like anything else would make it impossible to do. I am more than grateful to the people who have stuck beside me knowing the entirety of the story. They’ve stuck beside me from day one and they have been my rock.”
Tucker will appear in court in early May to be sentenced and may face a lengthy prison term. He plans to appeal on the basis of both the evidence presented and the conduct of the police investigation.
Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National Post, National Review, First Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton Spectator, Reformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.
His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
He is the author of The Culture War, Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, Patriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life Movement, Prairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.
Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.
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