Vancouver court proceedings have begun in a case where an Iranian woman was allegedly coerced to Canada. She and another woman were then allegedly sexually assaulted, concealed and illegally employed at an immigration service office.
Alex Jones, also known as Abolfazi Jafari, is facing seven charges connected with the case. A publication ban covers the women's names.
Jones is charged with:
• allegedly sexually assaulting NB in August 2019;
• allegedly sexually assaulting RB in August and September 2019;
• allegedly organizing the coming to Canada of NB in August 2016 through fraud, deception or coercion contrary to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
• allegedly recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harbouring NB and RB and controlling their movements for their exploitation between August 2019 and May 2020, and;
• allegedly inducing or abetting Alex Visa Immigration Services Inc. to employ NB and RB in positions for which they were not authorized under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The case was on the Vancouver Provincial Court docket on Jan. 26, with a next appearance for a pre-trial conference set for Feb. 14.
A LinkedIn profile for an Alex Jones lists the person as an immigration specialist at Alex Visa Immigration Services Inc.
