The trial for an Essa Township couple at the centre of a human-trafficking investigation is scheduled to begin on June 10 in a Bradford courtroom.
The Maloneys were charged July 19, just days after Ontario Provincial Police alerted the public that Lauriston Maloney, a convicted sex offender who was listed on the national sex offender registry, was living at Beating the Odds Children's Camp in Essa Township, west of Barrie.
His wife, Amber Maloney, owned and operated the camp at the couple’s Ivy-area home. It offered services for children with autism, but has since closed.
A publication ban protects any evidence heard in court from being released. However, police have previously indicated the alleged victim in the case did not attend the Beating the Odds day camp.
Lauriston Maloney has been charged with two counts of assault, trafficking in a person, receiving material benefit resulting from trafficking a person and forcible confinement.
Nottawasaga OPP have previously said that he was convicted in Peel Region in 2004 and 2013 for 16 criminal charges related to child trafficking.
Amber Maloney is charged with trafficking in a person, receiving material benefit resulting from trafficking a person, administering a noxious substance, fraud over $5,000 and uttering a forged document.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and the Maloneys are considered innocent unless proven guilty.
Both of the accused were released from custody Aug. 11, 2023 after being granted bail in a Barrie courtroom.
Lauriston Maloney is required to wear an ankle bracelet and reside with his father in Brampton.
There is also a brief confirmation hearing in intensive case management court on April 12, prior to the commencement of the trial in June.
