A man from Montreal has been found guilty of trafficking a young woman who jumped off a third-storey balcony in Toronto in 2020 as a means of escape.

In a decision handed down by Ontario Superior Court Justice Andres Shreck late last month, Jean Donacien was convicted on one count each of human trafficking, harbouring a person for sexual services, materially benefitting from the sale of sexual services, and unlawful confinement, along with two counts of assault.

The victim was only referred to as C.C. in the court documents in order to protect her identity.

Donacien and C.C. were first introduced in 2019, according to court filings. At the time, C.C. was living in British Columbia and already working within the sex trade, the documents state.

He told her that “if she worked with him, he would invest their money and buy a house together,” the filings read.

By the end of that year, C.C., 20 years old at the time, had travelled to Montreal to meet him in person.

For the next few months, the girl worked in the sex trade and gave all her money to Donacien, she testified.

“She alleges that he came to control her throughout this period and engaged in assaultive behaviour,” the documents state.

In December 2019, the pair visited Toronto together, the court heard. Once there, Donacien rented a car and an AirBnB in Vaughan.

After arriving in the city, C.C. posted an advertisement for sexual services on a website. Clients were charged hundreds of dollars an hour and payment was accepted in the form of cash, e-transfer or Bitcoin, the document states.

“She saw at least five clients a day and sometimes as many as 10 and would not sleep more than three or four hours a night,” Schreck wrote in his decision. “C.C. was vulnerable. She did not know anybody in Toronto and had no money of her own.”

Screenshots produced by C.C. show she sent approximately $15,000 to Donacien in late 2019 and early 2020. In cash, she estimated she handed over a similar amount.

“According to her, when she asked him what he did with the money, he told her that he would “invest it” and would make her feel bad for inquiring,” the documents read.

The agreement culminated in an altercation between the pair, in which Donacien locked C.C. on a balcony at an apartment in downtown Toronto, in March 2020.

The apartment belonged to a friend of Donacien’s, the court heard. While there, a dispute broke out and the two men began “beating” on her, she testified.

“Mr. Donacien approached her from behind and pinned her arms to her body. He then pushed her onto the balcony and locked her out there. She saw Mr. Donacien and his friend laughing at her through the window, after which they left the unit,” Schreck wrote in his decision.

C.C., reportedly wearing only a T-shirt at the time, started to grow cold. She testified that she was afraid the men would return and hurt her, so she decided to jump off the third-floor balcony.

“She landed in a small enclosed space,” the decision reads. “The woman who lived there let her into the building and she then left through the lobby.”

A resident of the building, who testified at the trial, said she heard the commotion and looked down from her balcony to see another woman, “pounding on the door and screaming for help.”

The neighbour went inside and called the police before notifying the building’s concierge.

Later that day, C.C. gave a statement to the Toronto Police Service.

Later, C.C. revealed had made a separate allegation report against Donacien in Montreal, the court heard.

C.C. agreed she had made this allegation but did not pursue it, as she said that she feared Donacien might be involved in a gang-activity. She could not recall if she had formally withdrawn the allegation.

At  trial in Toronto, Donacien, representing himself, argued that C.C.’s account contained inconsistencies and that her credibility should therefore be called into question.

Justice Schreck did note some inconsistencies in C.C.’s account, but ultimately found that the woman had not attempted to fabricate the events and that her evidence, when corroborated, provided an accurate detailing of what took place.

“There is no issue that Mr. Donacien intended to do the things that he did, so the real issue is whether he did so for the purpose of exploiting C.C.,” Schreck wrote in his analysis.

Ultimately, Schreck found that the motivations behind the alleged assaults were unclear but that Donacien “made it clear to C.C. that he was prepared to employ violence when she did not behave the way he wanted her to.”

“His overall course of conduct was to maintain control over her. She feared him and her fear was reasonable,” he wrote.

In turn, Donacien was found guilty on all counts laid on him, except for one count of assault causing bodily harm, where he was found guilty of the lesser offence of assault.

A sentencing hearing is expected at a later date.