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Halifax Regional Police have charged a 20-year-old man with a slew of offences following a human trafficking investigation that spanned nearly two months.

Police say they received information on August 8 about a man who directed and influenced a 16-year-old girl for the purpose of prostitution.

READ MORE: Halifax police’s human trafficking awareness campaign nets tips, charges

They accuse the man of procuring an underage person to offer sexual services, advertising sexual services, trafficking a person under the age of 18, human trafficking, assault, material benefit from trafficking and uttering threats.

Markeit Symonds was arrested Wednesday evening outside a residence in the 2300 block of Maynard Street in Halifax. He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Investigators say human trafficking does occur in Halifax and is an offence that involves controlling, forcing, intimidating or deceiving a person in order to exploit them through various forms of sexual exploitation or forced labour.

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