A 32-year-old woman from Richmond Hill has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison after being found guilty of sex-trafficking offences involving victims under the age of 18.

Pardis Senoubari-Abedini was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison and fined $185,000 for eight human trafficking offences on April 2, York police said in a news release Wednesday.

She was convicted on Dec. 11, 2018, of the offences of trafficking in persons, trafficking in persons under the age of 18, exercise direction and control, two counts of procuring to become a prostitute and living on the avails of prostitution of a person under the age of 18.

Senoubari-Abedini was arrested on June 1, 2016, after an investigation that began May 2016 into a victim who had been forced to work in the sex trade.

York police Const. Andy Pattenden told the Star Senoubari-Abedini used the website backpage.com to advertise underage girls online.

“We continue to encourage victims of human trafficking to reach out to us for help,” said York police Chief Eric Jolliffe. “Our trained investigators work tirelessly to ensure that criminals who seek to victimize vulnerable members of our community are held accountable for their actions.”

Anyone with further information is asked to contact the York Regional Police Special Victims Unit — Human Trafficking Section at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6800.

Emerald Bensadoun is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @twerk_vonnegut

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