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Two Bangladeshi men have been sentenced to prison in Canada for human trafficking and the sexual assault of a Bangladeshi woman in the province of Saskatchewan.
A provincial court sentenced Muhammad Masum to 14 years in prison for human trafficking and three counts of sexual assault, while Sohel Haider received a four-year prison term for human trafficking offences, Canadian media reported on Thursday.
The court also ordered the two men to pay the victim C$12,268 and C$5,885, respectively, in unpaid wages.
The men were convicted earlier this year following an 18-month judicial process.
The case involved the exploitation of the woman after she travelled from Bangladesh to Canada in search of employment.
According to court proceedings, the woman was promised a restaurant job that would help her remain in Canada as a temporary foreign worker.
However, she was forced to work long hours for little or no pay and was threatened with the cancellation of her work permit and being reported to police.
The men also withheld her immigration documents and moved her between restaurants in several Saskatchewan communities, including Gull Lake, Elrose and Tisdale.
The woman was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Masum.
She eventually escaped with assistance from people who became concerned about her situation.
In her victim impact statement, the woman said the abuse had devastated her life, career and family. She also described living in fear and struggling to trust others.
She said rumours surrounding her ordeal had damaged her family’s reputation in Bangladesh and affected her siblings’ future prospects.
The case has been described by Saskatchewan prosecutors as a precedent-setting human trafficking case in the province.
The woman’s identity has been protected by a court-ordered publication ban.