TORONTO – A Nova Scotia woman described in court as the “Queen” of a small human trafficking ring has been sentenced to seven and a half years in a federal penitentiary for her integral role in exploiting two young women, one of whom was a minor, in Toronto’s sex trade1. The sentence was handed down by Ontario Superior Court Justice Kenneth L. Campbell on September 12, 2025.
Rebecca Horton, now 28, was found guilty of seven criminal offences, including human trafficking, receiving a material benefit from human trafficking, assault, and sexual assault. The crimes occurred over a seven week period between March and April of 2018. Justice Campbell concluded that Ms. Horton was not a victim in the scheme, as her defence had argued, but a key perpetrator who used her position to groom, control, and profit from the exploitation of the two complainants.
The complex legal proceedings began to unfold in 2023. The trial originally started on September 11, 2023, with Ms. Horton being tried alongside two co-accused, her then boyfriend Daylo Robinson, also known as “Preem,” and his friend, Tyler Vickers. The matter was initially set to proceed as a jury trial. However, more than a month into the proceedings, on October 27, 2023, the case took a significant turn when Ms. Horton was severed from her co-accused. Citing personal reasons on the part of one of her lawyers, she re-elected to be tried by a judge alone. As part of this process, she formally waived her constitutional right to be tried within a reasonable time.
Her judge alone trial resumed before Justice Campbell in late 2024. After the Crown presented its case, Ms. Horton testified at length in her own defence. Following closing arguments, on March 3, 2025, Justice Campbell delivered his verdict, finding her guilty on all eleven counts she faced. Four of those convictions were later stayed at sentencing to prevent multiple convictions for the same criminal act.
The evidence at trial painted a detailed picture of a criminal enterprise that originated on Canada’s east coast. Justice Campbell found that Ms. Horton, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Vickers collectively decided to move to Toronto to establish a business in the sex trade. Ms. Horton had previous experience working in the sex industry on her own. In this new venture, the court found that Mr. Robinson acted as the organizational head, recruiting the women, setting prices, and placing advertisements for sexual services. Mr. Vickers served as the group’s enforcer.
Ms. Horton’s role was described by the judge as critical to the operation’s success. She was labelled the “Queen of the Preem Team” and Mr. Robinson’s “main girl.” Her responsibility was to be the female leader of the small stable of sex workers, a position she used to groom the two younger women, identified in court only by the initials R.W. and M.D. She was tasked with making them comfortable with “the life” while also controlling them for the financial benefit of the group.
Text messages presented as evidence revealed the extent of her active participation. Mr. Robinson instructed Ms. Horton to make one of the complainants her “bitch” and her “wifey,” suggesting she take the young woman to get their hair and nails done together. Ms. Horton replied, “OK daddy I will.” She also told Mr. Robinson she was being “interactive” by inviting one of the women to shower with her, where they discussed getting piercings. She acknowledged that Mr. Robinson repeatedly told her she was “in charge” of the other women.
The court found that Ms. Horton exercised significant control over R.W. She psychologically, emotionally, and physically abused the complainant to ensure compliance. She took all the money R.W. earned, controlled who she spoke with, and regulated her consumption of food and drugs. Evidence showed R.W. was fearful of Ms. Horton and unable to leave the situation.
The second complainant, M.D., was under the age of 18 when she was exploited by the group, a fact the court found Ms. Horton knew. M.D. was a vulnerable youth, living on the street with no family support. Ms. Horton was found to have groomed M.D., controlled her earnings, and, on one occasion, sexually assaulted her in a hot tub along with Mr. Robinson. When M.D. expressed a desire to stop providing escort services, Mr. Robinson threatened her, ensuring she continued.
At the sentencing hearing, the Crown, represented by Monica Gharabaway, argued for a penitentiary sentence between eight and ten years, stressing the principles of deterrence and denunciation for such serious crimes. Ms. Horton’s defence counsel, Tania Bariteau and Malaika Henriques, proposed a global sentence of four years. They pointed to mitigating factors, including the 37 days Ms. Horton had spent in pre-sentence custody and the nearly seven years she had been on bail without incident. They also argued that Ms. Horton was a victim herself, as she also provided sexual services for the financial benefit of the group.
Justice Campbell firmly rejected this characterization. “In short, Ms. Horton was no victim, she was one of the perpetrators of these terrible crimes,” he wrote in his reasons for sentence. “Without her consistent assistance and female leadership, these offences would have been much more difficult, if not virtually impossible, for Mr. Robinson and Mr. Vickers to commit on their own. The true victims in this case, the only true victims in this case, are the two young female complainants who were trafficked in the sex trade.”
In crafting the sentence, Justice Campbell considered Ms. Horton’s personal circumstances. Born in 1996, she has no prior criminal record. The court heard she had a traumatic childhood, having been sexually abused by her father. She left school after Grade 9 upon becoming pregnant at 17 and is the mother of an 11 year old daughter. At the time of sentencing, she was living in a supportive home in Nova Scotia with her family and was in a stable long term relationship. Numerous character reference letters from family and friends described her as a kind, caring, and resilient person.
Justice Campbell calculated a global starting sentence of eight years, composed of a four year term for the offences against R.W. and a consecutive four year term for the more serious offences against M.D., who was a minor. From this, he subtracted a total of six months in credit: approximately two months for her pre-sentence jail time and another four months for the lengthy and restrictive period she spent on judicial interim release.
The final sentence imposed was a total of seven and a half years of imprisonment. This consists of a three and a half year sentence for the human trafficking of R.W. to be served concurrently with other sentences related to that victim, followed by a consecutive four year sentence for the human trafficking of M.D., to be served concurrently with other sentences related to her.
In addition to the prison term, Justice Campbell imposed several ancillary orders. Ms. Horton must provide a DNA sample for the national databank. She is subject to a lifetime prohibition on possessing certain firearms and a ten year prohibition on others. An order was also made requiring her to have no contact with the two victims or her co-accused. Furthermore, she must register as a sex offender for life, and her iPhone, which was used to commit the offences, was forfeited to the Crown.
Read more crime stories here.
