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The list of 104 men caught in the York Regional Police underage prostitution sting includes many who one might refer to as "family men."
’Family men’ caught in child prostitution sting JEREMY GRIMALDI jgrimaldi@yrmg.com What are the backgrounds of the York Region men trying to hire girls as young as 13 for sex? The short answer is, they come from all walks of life. However, when one burrows
into the list of 104 men caught in the York Regional Police underage prostitution sting, it can be said that many are what one might refer to as "family men." "Almost all of these men were first offenders," said Susan Orlando, the Ministry of the Attorney General’s provincial co-ordi-
nator for the human-trafficking team. "Otherwise they had stable jobs and families and are not the type of people who usually you would see in the criminal justice system." The police agreed that these men did not fit the typical criminal profile.
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"Unfortunately, there was a lot of married men," said Det. Sgt. Thai Truong, who oversaw the four-year investigation dubbed Project Raphael. The operation is simple: men looking for a prostitute contact
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NEWS
Home for mentally ill raises concerns in community KIM ZARZOUR kzarzour@yrmg.com York Region Community and Health Services is investigating The Newmarket Residence after tenants were reported wandering in apparent distress near Davis Drive and Warden Avenue. The investigation follows an incident Sunday evening when a driver said she nearly hit an elderly man walking on the highway. "He had no clue, he was just walking out onto the road. He was going to be smoked for sure," said Robynn Sniderman. Shaken, she helped move the man away from the busy road. "He was wearing pajamas. His entire backside, all the way down to his feet, was covered in dried feces." Speaking in broken English, the man told her he was hungry and was going to the market. When she entered the tree-bor-
Steve Somerville/Metroland
Jen Copeland manages the Esso/Country Style at Woodbine and Davis Drive. She has encountered residents that have wandered away from the nearby Newmarket Residence many times. dered property, she was surrounded by other residents begging her to bring them home.
In a nearby wooded area she saw a man, wet, muddy and looking dazed.
"I felt like I’d entered the zombie apocalypse. He kept falling down. Two other men were trying to pull him out and his hands were bleeding." She walked into the unlocked building and searched until she found an employee. "I said, ’I just pulled one of your residents off the road; he could have been killed. And there’s another one in the woods.’ "But she just laughed.I was appalled to see so many low-functioning residents with very high needs and zero supervision." Owner-operator Icilda Tate said there is supervision, "to a certain extent". Four staff were on duty at 5:30 pm., she said. The East Gwillimbury facility is listed online as an 82-bed community residence with 24-hour support and supervision for vulnerable adults with physical or cognitive impairments. Residents are free to come and
go as they please, Tate said. "They sign themselves out. And sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they just go.It’s not a lockdown facility." Many walk to the gas station or 404 plaza a few kilometres west on Davis Drive, she said, and some have been hit by cars. The two-lane highway has no sidewalks, just gravel shoulders. "They go missing, too.The police know this facility very well. We call them very often." YRP Const. Andy Pattenden confirmed, "we are aware of it and we attend regularly". Pattenden said most calls from the residence relate to "missing" reports - there were seven in 2016 and two so far in 2017 - but many more calls come from concerned citizens regarding people walking on Davis or trespassing in nearby stores. l See TENANTS, page 5
COMMUNITY
Onward, upward for new Aurora United Church building AMANDA PERSICO apersico@yrmg.com Three years ago, Aurora lost a landmark and the Aurora United Church lost its home. Each year on April 11, members of the Aurora United Church gather at an empty lot at Yonge and Mosley streets - the site of the former church. "This is a time to be on the land, dream and look forward," said Reverend Andrew Comar of the horrific fire that destroyed the iconic brick and stone church building. The Aurora United Church is looking forward to rebuilding a church that peers down on the town. While the newly proposed church building will not stand as tall as a one destroyed by flames, the modern glass building will
stand for a future generation. "We could build a replacement church to look like the old one, but that would be for the now, the short term," said Brian North, chairperson of the Aurora United Church rebuild committee. "But we have to look forward with a more modern design." The new church will be encased in glass, instead of the traditional brick and stone of the 1800s. But that doesn’t mean it’s in with the new and out with the old. Close to 200 years ago, the congregation met on the same site in a log cabin, said Rev. Lorraine Newton-Comar. "We are the caretakers, dreamers and memory keepers," she said during the on-site remembrance service. "We’re coming from tragedy to rebuilding."
The redesign includes using stained glass pieces that were saved from the fire, along with salvaged artifacts. While coming up with and agreeing on a new design was a challenge, the congregation agreed rebuilding the church on the original site was the only option. "We could have moved and sold the land. The property probably would have become a highrise," North said. "Watching the church burn was really emotional, not only for the congregation but for the people of Aurora. We had to build where it was." The plans also include a retirement centre on the back of the 1acre property near Temperance Street. Metroland file photo l See NEW, page 5
Fire gutted the historic Yonge Street church in 2014.
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