A Kelowna man who’s been awaiting trial for the last three years for his role in an alleged pimping operation pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him Feb. 4.
Simon Rypiak, 33, pleaded guilty to four counts of procuring adults to offer sexual services and one count of obtaining a material benefit from sexual services. He’s scheduled to return to court April 8 for sentencing.
READ MORE: CHARGES SPAN SEVERAL POLICING JURISDICTIONS
The court heard the Crown’s case against Rypiak during a preliminary inquiry held in November 2017 and it was decided that there was enough evidence to move forward with a trial later that year. After various delays it was re-scheduled to April 2019.
Kelowna RCMP said in 2015 that the investigation into Rypiak, who used a pseudonym, revealed that the victims recruited online through social media platforms, ranged in age from 15 to 20 years old.
RCMP alleged he used physical violence to maintain control of his victims who he forced to work as escorts for him.
An investigation into the activities of Rypiak started in September of 2015 and led to a number of alleged victims being identified by police, across several policing jurisdictions in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and as far away as Quebec.
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