Former No More Lockdowns organizer sentenced to seven years for human trafficking

Editor’s note: This story contains disturbing details regarding child sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is strongly advised.

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One of the organizers of the Stratford branch of No More Lockdowns Canada has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in trafficking a 15-year-old girl.

Jason Cook, 37, who appeared in court Friday wearing a black puffy jacket and gray pants, will now spend the next six years and 12 days in prison after receiving enhanced credit for pre-sentence custody.

Prior to delivering his sentence at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice hearing, Justice J. Ross Macfarlane read an excerpt from the victim-impact statement provided by the young woman, who, before her involvement with Cook, was a straight-A student and dedicated athlete.

In her statement, she described how Cook forced her into the sex trade and the devastating impacts on her life. She wrote about the challenges “of knowing that the people who love me also know.”

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“This whole experience didn’t stop when I escaped. It continued on and, sadly, will continue on for many years,” she wrote in her statement.

Following a four-day April trial, Cook was found guilty by the jury of three offenses: the human trafficking of a person younger than 18, receiving a material benefit from human trafficking, and procuring or attempting to procure a person to become a prostitute. Cook received concurrent three- and four-year sentences for his latter two convictions while the jury acquitted Cook of an additional charge of living on the avails prostitution.

While the Crown asked for an eight-year sentence, the defense sought a five- to six-year term, citing “the mitigating circumstances of the offender’s troubled life.”

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Macfarlane said there were both mitigating and aggravating factors in this case. The judge accused Cook’s lack of a criminal history, as well as the nine-year gap between his crimes and the time of his arrest.

“This is Mr. Cook’s first offense, and he has the support of family members and his church. The offender has devoted some time toward custody personal growth, and has expressed a wish to further his education. Mr. Cook did express remorse for the harm suffered by (the victim), her family and the community, but does not acknowledge his own actions, so the mitigating effect of this is limited,” Macfarlane said.

Macfarlane said he needed to consider the totality of the circumstances and impose a sentence that was not unduly harsh.

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“However, the sentence suggested by the defense of five to six years does not adequately address the primary sentencing goals in light of the totality of the circumstances in this case,” the judge said.

Cook, victim puts via social media

Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Macfarlane described how Cook met and victimized the woman, whose name is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, over a two- to four-week period.

In 2012, Cook, who was 25 at the time, responded to a social media post from the teen, telling her he had alcohol and a place to drink. After a short conversation, the victim decided she would go with Cook to London. He and another woman, who later turned out to be in the sex trade, picked up the victim from a vacant lot. Cook then offered her a chance to make money, ensuring the teen it didn’t involve pornography or sex. The victim declined, thinking the offer involved the drug trade.

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After going to a hotel in London, Cook left the victim with the other woman, who then told the teen to change into lingerie. After she refused, Cook “pushed her into a bathroom and told her to get changed or he would do it,” said Mafarlane, reading from the statement.

After the victim changed, Cook took photographs of her that were used as part of an online advertisement offering sexual services. Cook told the victim, who was concerned for her safety, that he knew her father and other family members.

The agreed statement of facts described how men would come to the victim’s room so “she could provide various sexual services for money.”The victim was forced to provide services to “dozens of men, if not more.” Sometimes, Cook would drive her to meet men at other locations.

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He also gave the victim a cellphone, which he told her she had to answer.

Cook claimed roughly half of the money the victim received and, in the first weekend alone, she estimated she had collected $10,000. This pattern occurred over a period of a few weeks before Cook “sold” the victim to two others for an unknown amount of money.

During the trial, Cook denied he knew the victim’s age. He also tried claiming he had left the victim at a party before trying to rescue her several days later when he learned that other people were trafficking her.

However, this version of events “was clearly rejected by the jury,” Macfarlane noted.

The victim did not see Cook again until 2021, when, working as a DoorDash driver, he delivered an order to her home. According to police at that time, officers opened an investigation into Cook after the survivor reported she was trafficked for several weeks before escaping around Thanksgiving 2012. Cook surrendered to police after learning of the allegations.

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Cook’s childhood filled with “significant trauma”

Cook Although was heavily involved with anti-lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was charged with failing to comply with an emergency order following an April 2021 protest, he had no criminal record prior to his human-trafficking conviction.

However, Macfarlane did note that Cook’s childhood was “marked by significant trauma.” This included his mother leaving his abusive father when Cook was only five. Two years later, Cook found his father bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Although his mother and step-father have been supportive recently, he historically had difficult relationships with each, the judge noted. A 14-year-old Cook also suffered a serious injury — a spine fracture — when he was attacked by a group of students.

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Aggravating factors

While Macfarlane acknowledged this profound childhood trauma, the judge also noted several aggravating factors that influenced the sentence, including the degree of coercion and control that Cook had on the victim.

“The impact of the offender’s criminal behavior on (the woman’s) life was to take a promising straight A student and turn her into his victim for his own profit. She is still, 12 years after the fact, suffering the consequences of her lonely (social media) post. . . and the opportunity seized by Mr. Cook,” Macfarlane said.

Sex offender

In addition to his prison time, Cook must also register as a sex offender for 20 years, provide a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank, and will be subjected to a 10-year firearms prohibition. He is also prohibited from communicating with the victim either directly or indirectly while in custody.

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