By Gordon Paul Record Reporter Fri., Dec. 11, 2020
KITCHENER — One of six people implicated in crimes against a 15-year-old girl in Kitchener in 2017 was found guilty this week of just one offence — forcible confinement.
The girl was kidnapped, blindfolded, tied up, waterboarded, burned, raped and confined for days in a small bedroom in a Kitchener apartment.
Dailean John, 33, was found guilty of forcible confinement but not guilty of human trafficking of a person under 18 and kidnapping. He will be sentenced on Feb. 18.
The main person pointing the finger at John at his trial was Lindsay Rye, a Kitchener woman who had already pleaded guilty to a raft of charges involving the girl and was awaiting sentencing when she testified. Rye alleged John was the girl’s pimp.
Justice Karey Katzsch did not believe her testimony.
“In my view, to describe this witness as exhibiting any measure of credibility would be an error,” the judge said in her ruling this week.
“Ms Rye provided an account of events that was … inconsistent and appears to be crafted deliberately to shield herself from any suggestion of wrongdoing. In my view, much of her evidence was false.”
Rye, 20, pleaded guilty to human trafficking of a person under 18, making child pornography, advertising sexual services, forcible confinement and assault. She was sentenced in August to four years in prison.
Four others were implicated in the crimes. A man suspected of raping the girl died before being charged. Another man got two years in jail. Two other people got lighter sentences.
The series of crimes began after the 15-year-old girl stole $5,000 from John’s apartment.
Rye, another woman and two men — not John — found her at a friend’s house and pressured her to get into a car. There was a suggestion one of the men had a weapon.
The girl was taken to John’s apartment. She said she was blindfolded, tied up, waterboarded and burned on the arm with a lighter. She said a bottle of hot sauce was poured down her throat. The girl was taken to a bedroom where she was sexually assaulted by two men, but not by John, and confined for days.
Rye said she did not take part in the waterboarding, but the girl “clearly recalled Ms. Rye participating in this portion of her abuse, along with striking her repeatedly in the face with a shoe,” Katzsch said.
The girl was urged to come up with a plan to repay the $5,000. Her work in the sex trade paid some of it off. She was allowed to leave only to see clients. She testified Rye drove her to and from those appointments and all the money from sexual services went to Rye.
Rye testified John acted as a pimp for the girl and other women, but the judge found that Rye was “running the show,” making most of the decisions involving the girl.
“The evidence appears clear that Ms. Rye had absolutely no concern for the health and welfare of this young woman,” the judge said, “and was a willing and active participant or orchestrator of her kidnapping, torture and subsequent trafficking.”
The girl said John played no role in the kidnapping. The judge ruled it was clear that John knew she was being forcibly confined. John, represented by defence lawyer Stephen Proudlove, did not testify.
The girl said John did not collect her money, nor did he book her appointments, arrange advertisements or drive her to and from clients.
“Instead, all of this was done by Lindsay Rye,” the judge said.
After being confined for days, the girl was driven by Rye to a London hotel for a “no restrictions” appointment with a client.
In the hotel room, the girl immediately asked the client if she could use his cellphone.
“She called her mother and explained she needed help to remove herself from the situation,” the judge said. “(She) then waited in another area of the hotel before family members arrived and spirited her out a back or side door.”
Rye drove around London looking for the girl. She apparently planned to try to find her at the girl’s mother’s house.
“Mr. John told her to ‘leave it alone — you’re not going to go and kidnap someone from their mom’s house,’” the judge said.
When Rye was sentenced, the girl’s mother read a victim impact statement.
“Your selfish choices and blatant disregard for the well-being of my daughter have left a permanent mark on both of our lives,” she said. “You stole her trust, exploited her vulnerabilities and robbed her of her self-worth and dignity.”
One thing she didn’t steal was her courage, the girl’s mother said.
“She had the courage to escape, the courage to speak up, the courage to face those who brutally wronged her and unending courage to continue through this justice system.
”Gordon Paul is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on crime for The Record. Reach him via email: [email protected]