Human trafficker threatened victim’s life from prison

Man forced Brantford woman into sex trade

Nightingale said the victim was 17 when Campbell, then 34 and living in Caledonia, started giving her drugs in exchange for sex and promised to help her launch a modelling career

Daniel Campbell was in prison while on trial for human trafficking when he told his cellmate he would get revenge on his victim, a Brantford woman he had forced into the sex trade.

“If he got out, he was going to make her go missing,” Crown attorney Heather Palin told Justice Robert Nightingale during Campbell’s sentencing hearing in Cayuga on Thursday.

“And if he didn’t get out, if he was convicted, he would have other people kill her.”

Campbell’s cellmate coincidentally knew the victim and told her of the jailhouse threats.

In tearful remarks to the court, Campbell apologized for the “rather ominous and sinister things” he said about the victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban.

He was “blowing off some steam,” Campbell said, and did not imagine his words would reach her ears.

“Still, there is no excuse that can justify my actions,” he said.

Campbell was in court to be sentenced after being found guilty in October on charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation, drug trafficking and gun possession.

Nightingale said the victim was 17 when Campbell, then 34 and living in Caledonia, started giving her drugs in exchange for sex and promised to help her launch a modelling career.

Working out of hotels in southwestern Ontario, the victim was instead forced to provide sexual services to strangers over the course of 3.5 months, starting in October 2019, shortly after she turned 18.

During that time, Campbell withheld her pay and limited her food, struck her on the head, belittled her emotionally and threatened her with several replica firearms.

“These were crimes of greed and profit,” Nightingale said, adding he considered the threats Campbell made against the victim’s life while in prison “very concerning.”

“I caused a great deal of harm to a lot of people who didn’t deserve it,” Campbell told the court, saying he was “embarrassed and ashamed.”

Nightingale sentenced Campbell to 10.5 years in prison. After being credited for time already served, he faces five years and 11 months behind bars.

The Crown sought a 12-year sentence for Campbell, who Palin described as a “primary driver” of the conspiracy with a “very significant” criminal record.

Campbell’s lawyer, Laura Giordano, asked for an eightyear sentence.

Campbell must submit a DNA sample and adhere to a lifetime weapons ban. He must pay the victim $7,500 in restitution.

Two co-conspirators — Dragisa Lucic and Joshua Hillock — were previously sentenced to seven years and 3.5 years, respectively.

A fourth accused, CrystalAnne Marier, was acquitted, while a fifth, Carly Creor, is scheduled to stand trial next January.