Quebec man arrested in Alberta on human trafficking charges: ALERT

Police in Alberta have arrested a Quebec man on numerous human trafficking charges.

Xavier Godbout, 22, was arrested on October 24 by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) Human Trafficking Unit, with assistance from the Calgary Police Service. He was also wanted on arrest warrants from Quebec.

Police say Godbout allegedly met two women on social media and recruited them to travel to Calgary under the pretense of a job.

When they arrived, he allegedly tried to force them to work in the sex industry. Police say one of the victims resisted and was punched several times and had a gun put to her head.

The two women were able to contact police and received help.

Godbout is in police custody and faces numerous charges, including:

• Attempted human trafficking;
• Purchasing;
• Advertising for sexual services;
• Extortion;
• Aggravated assault with a firearm;
• Use of a firearm during a criminal offence;
• Careless storage of a firearm;
• Aiming a firearm; And
• Multiple firearms offences.

“The safety of victims was our greatest concern. After receiving information from our colleagues in Quebec, our unit acted to transport these two women to a safe location and arrest them,” said Staff Sgt. Gordon MacDonald with ALERT.

Godbout has a firearms ban and was also wanted on two arrest warrants, one for an assault with a weapon that occurred in April 2022 and another for failing to comply with a probation order from October 2022.

ALERT encourages any additional victims to come forward and speak to police.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.