An 18-year-old girl involved in forcing teens into prostitution told an Ottawa judge today that she is ready to change her life.  The teen's sentencing hearing was held today.  The judge will decide what that sentence will be in January. The 18 year old is the oldest of three girls charged in a horrific case in which girls as young as 13 were forced into "sexual servitude" as the Crown put it.  There were eight victims in all, most of whom were lured to the ringleader's house for what they thought was a sleepover or a party.  Instead, the Crown says they were threatened, beaten, even drugged and forced to have sex with men.

Two of the teenagers, including the 18-year-old have pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including human trafficking.   The third, who was 15 at the time the trio was arrested in June of 2012, will find out December 20th whether she will be found guilty or innocent. 

The mother of one of the victims spoke at the sentencing hearing for the 18-year-old today. 

She told court that "the post-traumatic stress disorder her daughter was diagnosed with will follow her for a lifetime.”  And that she and her daughter needed closure in order to get on with their lives and feel at peace again.

“Her fear is my fear,” she told court, “her anger is my anger.  Almost every muscle in my body is affected,” she said as she quietly wept in the courtroom.  

Crown Prosecutor Fara Rupert told court that the teen used deception to lure her one-time friend to a place “where she was outnumbered and held against her will, beaten, threatened, robbed and forced into sexual servitude.”

“These decisions run counter to the way any human being should act towards any other person,” Rupert continued.

The girl has spent more than 8 months in jail, though she has been out on bail for several weeks.  Both the Crown and the teen's lawyer agree that she should get time served for that along with two years’ probation. They have also jointly suggested other conditions including that the teen live at home in Montreal with her mother, that she have no weapons and no contact with the victim or the other two accused, that she provide a DNA sample and that she get a job or return to school.

The Crown also wants a 9:00 curfew imposed, along with an intensive counseling program and community service hours.  She will be sentenced by Justice Diane Lahaie on January 17th.

The alleged ringleader will be tried December 20th, the same day that the third accused in the case will be sentenced.