9-year sentence for a pimp who controlled the lives of a minor and a homeless woman

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A pimp who controlled the lives of a 15-year-old girl and a homeless girl was sentenced to a full nine-year prison sentence in Montreal court on Thursday.

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Quebec court judge Érick Vanchestein described what the homeless woman experienced in particular as living as a slave and a prisoner.

He sentenced 31-year-old Cleephord Losse to five years in prison for having made the 15-year-old work as a prostitute. The sentences handed down by the judge for a dozen other charges will be served consecutively.

In June, the judge found Losse guilty of offering the sexual services of a minor, several charges related to the pimp, sex with a minor, counseling a person to commit suicide and two counts of battery.

The first case involved the teenager Losse began seeing in July 2015, when he was 24 years old. They had sex the first time they met after communicating through social media. The girl told him that she had financial problems and he suggested that she work as a prostitute. He ended up keeping 50 percent of what the girl was paid.

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The victim said she was paid to have sex with five men while working for Losse and that all of the men used condoms. She also testified that she had unprotected sex with Losse and ended up pregnant. She said she had an abortion after informing her mother about the pregnancy.

The teenager was already seeing a psychologist before meeting Losse, and in July 2015 she began telling the psychologist about the relationship. The psychologist informed the juvenile protection services, who in turn contacted the police.

The second case involved a 21-year-old woman who was homeless in Montreal during the spring of 2016. The woman testified that she felt she was manipulated toward Losse by people she met at a resource center for homeless youth.

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Losse convinced the young woman to start working for him as a prostitute. At first, he kept 50 percent of what he earned, but eventually he kept everything he was paid, claiming it covered his living expenses.

The woman testified that Losse took full control of her life over the course of 11 months, was violent towards her and convinced her to help him steal a large amount of money from the home of a John who told her he was in love with she.

The woman testified that after the robbery, Losse told her that he would start working in another province. She said she was afraid he would “make me disappear” and contacted the police.

Losse faces a robbery charge in that case, which is scheduled to resume in Montreal courthouse next year in December.

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