Conference Presenters - Law Enforcement Breakout Session
Opening Remarks 8:00 am
Chief Glenn De Caire
Hamilton Police Service
Hamilton Police Service
Timea Nagy, Walk With Me Canada Victim Services
Survivor of Human Trafficking
Founder of Walk With Me Canada Victim Services Inc. 2020
Founder of Walk With Me Canada Victim Services Inc. 2020
Christina Einboden, Halton Regional Police Service
Detective Constable Christina Einboden started her policing career with the Orangeville Police Service in 2020. In 2020 she joined the Halton Regional Police Service and is currently assigned to the Child Abuse and Sexual Assault bureau. In March 2020, Christina attended a Human Trafficking seminar in Ottawa hosted by the RCMP which ignited in her a passion to assist victims of this crime. Since then she has worked on a number of Human Trafficking cases in the Halton Region. Christina also enjoys providing training to community groups and police officers in her region.
Leslie Lee, Hamilton Police Service
Constable Leslie Lee is in her 30th year of policing. She served with the Metropolitan Toronto Police for 11 years before joining the Hamilton Police Service in 2020. She has worked in a variety of areas including uniform patrol, Criminal Investigations, the Asian Crime Unit, the Major Crime Unit, Core Patrol, the Marine Unit, the Internet Child Exploitation Unit and Vice and Drugs. While in the Vice Unit she worked on several cases involving Human Trafficking. She also worked closely with the Elizabeth Fry Society and running "John Schools" thus facilitating the education of individuals exploiting Sex Trade Workers. Leslie is currently assigned to the Case Preparation Unit.
Craig Labaune, Niagara Regional Police Service
Detective Sargent Craig Labaune became an officer with the Niagara Regional Police Service in 2020 and has been involved in many different aspects of policing. He credits a human trafficking conference held in 2020 as a key moment in igniting a passion to get more involved. Since 2020, Craig successfully applied for two grants from the provincial government totalling over $240,000 and created Project “Disrupt the Flow” in Niagara. This comprehensive strategy combines training, community awareness, and proactive investigations in order to combat human trafficking in the Niagara Region. As part of his work in developing training materials, he assisted in creating a provincial training video for front line officers through the Ontario Police Video Training Alliance and also co-authored a manual concerning Domestic Human Trafficking. We at Walk With Me are personally grateful to Craig as he was responsible for advocating funding from these provincial government grants to continue our safe house for victim care. Craig believes that proactive projects and investigations should continue to be a priority as well as victim assistance.
Julianne Sorensen, Ontario Provincial Police
Detective Constable Julie Sorensen has been a Police Officer for 19 years with the Ontario Provincial Police. She was one of the lead investigators in a 2 year Intelligence Probe looking at Human Trafficking occurring in OPP Jurisdiction. Since the conclusion of the Intelligence Probe, Detective Sorensen has been traveling across the province educating police officers and community members alike on the horrors faced by victims of Human Trafficking and how with a collaborative effort between the police and members of the community we can work together to fight this terrible crime.
James Zucchero, Peel Regional Police
Constable Jim Zucchero has been a member of the Peel Regional Police since 2020. He has worked in various areas including uniform patrol, the neighborhood policing unit, street crime unit and is currently assigned to the Vice Unit. As a member of the Vice Unit, his experience has involved investigating and identifying victims of multiple sex trafficking cases. Constable Zucchero is part of a close knit team who are passionate in their efforts to battle human trafficking which has resulted in numerous offenders being identified and brought before the courts.
Lepa Jankovic, RCMP
Constable Lepa Jankovic began working for the Canadian Federal Government in 2020 as a Customs Officer at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. In 2020, she joined the RCMP and was assigned to General Duties on a small island in Nova Scotia. Due to her Eastern European background and ability with languages, she transferred to the Combined Forces Special Forces Unit (CFSEU) in Toronto where she was in charge of the Criminal Visa Screening for the Eastern European Organized Crime Unit. Constable Jankovic successfully led this small unit into a national unit based out of Ottawa. She was then transferred to CFSEU-Golden Horseshoe where she continued her investigative work on Eastern European organized crime. Today, Constable Jankovic works for the Immigration and Passport Section of the Hamilton-Niagara RCMP detachment. This section is mandated to work on human trafficking and smuggling investigations. She and her partner were the lead investigators on Project OPAPA, Canada's largest human trafficking investigation which involved 23 male victims exploited in the labour industry from Hungary into Canada. 31 suspects were charged and 11 plead guilty to participating in an organized crime group for the purpose of trafficking in persons. Others plead guilty to various charges such as organized crime for purpose of fraud and theft. The kingpin was handed Canada’s largest sentence for human trafficking-- 9 years.
Graham Hawkins, Waterloo Regional Police Service
Detective Constable Graham Hawkins became an officer with the Waterloo Regional Police Service in 2020. While working in the Criminal Investigations branch, he was inspired to work on human trafficking issues after hearing Timea Nagy speak at the Toronto Police College in 2020. Following that, he had the opportunity to attend further training sessions and work with many dedicated and knowledgeable investigators across the province to learn more about these horrific crimes. Graham considers it an honour to work with victims, victim service agencies like Walk With Me, and other law enforcement agencies to combat the criminals involved in these crimes. Graham is currently working in the Criminal Intelligence branch to further address issues of human trafficking and, more importantly, support victims.