The young ringleader behind a horrific teen trafficking scheme in Ottawa has been sentenced as an adult.
The publication ban surrounding her identity is gone, and so too is her freedom. It is a precedent-setting case.
Kailey Oliver Machado was 15 years old when Ottawa police arrested her in June of 2012. She now goes to jail as an adult for six and a half years.
"This sets a clear tone as to what happens if you choose this for your life," says Detective Carolyn Botting.
Botting and Sergeant Kelly Lyle were instrumental in the arrest of Oliver-Machado and two other girls, who were 15 and 16 at the time the human trafficking ring was discovered.
It is the first time a teen has been sentenced to adult court under Canada's Human Trafficking Law.
"This never would have happened if the five victims didn't come forward," added Botting outside the Ottawa courthouse today, "but this never would have happened if men stopped buying young girls for sex. We would never be here today and that needs to change."
Court had heard over the past several months, that Oliver-Machado and the two other girls had lured victims as young as 13 to Oliver-Machado's house; drugged them, beat them, photographed them then forced them to have sex with men for money. Some of the men involved have also been charged.
The two other girls accused were convicted as young offenders. Court heard in testimony that Oliver-Machado, as the ringleader, had a motto that she lived by: "Money over everything."
In sentencing her today, Justice Diane Lahaie said, "That a 15-year-old old could be the ringleader of something like this was shocking and yet she answered to no one."
Throughout the sentencing, Oliver-Machado showed no emotion at all. At the end, Justice Lahaie asked her to stand, told her that her conduct was ‘despicable’ and added that she hoped the young, extremely intelligent woman would use the time in jail to do something positive for society. It is only at that point that the accused nodded.
Outside the court, Oliver-Machado’s lawyer said he had just seen his client who ‘seemed quite upset,’ although Ken Hall says she didn’t appear to be registering yet what had happened to her.
"We're contemplating an appeal," Hall told reporters, "but we will have to examine all our options in due course."
The victims had testified over the course of the trial that they were traumatized by what happened to them, some were even suicidal. One attended the sentencing today and said she was happy with the outcome.
Oliver-Machado will get credit for about 3 and half years in jail, meaning she's got another 3 to go. It's yet to be determined whether she will spend that time in a youth facility or a federal pen.
