A Winnipeg woman is accused of showering another woman with expensive gifts and convincing her to perform sex acts on others as a way to repay the debt.
The Winnipeg Police Service said charges had been laid against the accused Friday, after a woman in her 20s reported last month she had been in a coercive relationship.
The victim told investigators the accused, whom she knew, gave her jewelry, clothes and drugs. Then, from September 2023 to October 2024, the accused insisted she pay back those gifts by working as an escort.
It’a alleged she set up meetings for the victim to provide sex using online ads and then kept the money, police said.
Michelle Victoria Comber, 34, was arrested Nov. 4 and charged with procuring a person to provide sexual services, material benefit from sexual services, trafficking in persons and failure to comply with a probation order. She remains in custody.
A review of court records shows Comber has convictions for assault, drug offences and breaching court orders.
Most recently, she was sentenced in April to 18 months of probation after she and a man forced their way into a home in relation to a dispute over ownership of a dog.
Court heard her upbringing was marked by neglect and she became a substance user with a “dangerous lifestyle” when she was in her teens.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca