B.C. woman pleads guilty to multiple charges of human trafficking after 2023 arrest

A B.C. woman arrested in 2023 has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of human trafficking, assault, unlawful confinement and sexual exploitation of minors. An RCMP logo is seen in Surrey, B.C., on April 13, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

A British Columbia woman has pleaded guilty to charges of human trafficking, assault, unlawful confinement and sexual exploitation of minors.

Jennifer Stephens was arrested by Langley RCMP officers in December 2023 after an investigation that began in March of that year.

The Mounties issued a statement at the time saying they launched the investigation after a 911 call from a Langley gas station, where a worker “reported that an injured, distressed adult female walked in and asked to call police.”

Police say officers provided the woman with first aid and she directed them to a nearby hotel, leading to an initial assault charge against Stephens.

The following December, police say serious crime investigators arrested Stephens on more than a dozen charges for alleged human trafficking, benefiting from sexual services of a minor, forcible confinement, assault causing bodily harm, uttering threats and advertising sexual services.

Stephens pleaded guilty to several of the charges in a New Westminster, B.C., courtroom on Thursday, with the court hearing the evidence against her included “graphic” videos that were sealed by the judge.

Stephens is due back in court on Feb. 6.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press