'Hard to believe the level of sadism here': Winnipeg man who forced Ontario woman into sex trade pleads guilty

A Winnipeg man accused of forcing a Windsor, Ont., woman to work in the sex trade has pleaded guilty.

Andres Michael Pavao, 30, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg court Wednesday to human trafficking, forcible confinement and obstructing justice.

He received a jointly recommended sentence of eight years. With credit for time served, he will be in prison for six years, 10 months and 19 more days.

"It's actually hard to find the words to describe how heinous his crimes were against the victim," Crown attorney Jennifer Mann told the court.

Mann read an agreed statement of facts which detailed the months of abuse the 26-year-old woman endured at the hands of her captor.

"She told police that she felt safer when she was working in the sex trade because if she was working, he could not beat her," said Mann.

She said among other things Pavao burned the woman with a hot iron, shocked her with an electrical wire, and locked her in a freezer. He also blindfolded her and tied her hands with bed sheets then strung her up to the ceiling with a cord.

"It's frankly hard to believe the level of sadism here," Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brenda Keyser said in court Wednesday. "Frankly, I hope they keep you locked up as long as they can."

Pavao was arrested last September and charged with a number of offences, including trafficking in persons, forcible confinement and advertising sexual services. 

Forced into the sex trade

The woman had known Pavao for eight months. They met in Windsor, where they both lived at the time. She told investigators he forced her to take a train to Winnipeg in May 2018, and made her live with him in a Point Douglas home owned by his uncle. Court heard Pavao's mother paid for the train tickets. 

"Shortly after arriving in Winnipeg the victim began working in the sex trade. The accused threatened her and her family if she did not comply," said Mann.

Police said Pavao would arrange "dates with johns" in the house where he and the woman lived, and when the customers left, he would collect the cash. According to the court documents, the woman had a total of 50 "customers" and she would see between three and 10 of them per day.

The Crown said Pavao sold the woman for $200 an hour, and made her hand over most of her earnings.

"He was suspicious that she would leave and return to Windsor. He told her that if she were to run away, he would find her and kill her and also kill her parents," said Mann.

The woman was able to escape by lying to Pavao about picking up a pack of cigarettes from a man in a vehicle parked outside the house. She instead asked the man to drive her to a police station. From there, she was taken to hospital.

The victim was badly bruised, had an injury to her kidney, a broken nose and strangulation marks around her neck.

"This is the worst case of domestic violence that I have ever seen. I have great fears for this patient's safety," the Crown told the court the doctor said after examining the woman.

Calls from jail

The court heard, on September 24, while incarcerated at Headingley Correctional Centre, Pavao called a female acquaintance in an effort to get a message to the victim.

"If she doesn't show up, I'll be able to beat this case.... You know what I'm saying," Pavao was recorded saying to the acquaintance.

"She's most likely in Windsor.... I need you to find this out somehow," Pavao said from jail.

Mann said on November 24 while Pavao was locked up at Milner Ridge Correctional Centre he called a male acquaintance from behind bars and gave the man the victim's name and her mother's name.

"Talk to them, might make them want to drop the accusations," Pavao told the acquaintance over the phone.

Pavao had difficult childhood: lawyer

Pavao's lawyer Matthew Gould said while there is no excuse for what his client did — his actions were in part a result of a difficult childhood in Chile. 

"What we see from this is someone who, himself, suffered extremely in his childhood," Gould said after the plea was entered. "And that's not offered as an excuse, it's offered as a reality."

Gould said Pavao lived in Santiago, Chile, from age five to nine and again from age 12 to 19. During that time, Pavao's father was imprisoned for attempted murder and was deported to Portugal. The court heard Pavao's father later took his life.

"The experiences there at those crucial developmental stages had a lasting impact in terms of very serious damage and very serious effects in terms of Mr. Pavao and his behaviour and how he understands the world and the help that he needs, that he recognizes he needs," said Gould.

He said Pavao's mother was abused by her partners, and at age 12, Pavao stabbed one of them and was thrown out of the house.

Gould told court Pavao pleaded guilty to spare the victim a trial and he accepts responsibility for his actions. He said his client wants to take programs in prison to help him understand what he did and try to be better going forward. 

The woman wasn't in court for the sentencing but Mann read her victim impact statement.

In it the woman said she is still trying to heal and has been devoting her time to educating people about human trafficking.

"The pain and suffering this man has caused me is indescribable. This is the kind of violence that you believe only exists in the movies, or on TV, or that you hear about on the news from a far away place," her statement said.

"At least I know I will be able to continue to heal and move forward with my life, pursuing my hopes and dreams that felt unattainable for so long, knowing that he is locked up and unable to hurt anyone else."