‘Easy Money’ Promises | Victims of a pimp call for mistrust

“The easy money” that pimps dangle at young women to encourage them to prostitute themselves is only a “trap”, warn two victims of the pimp Luis Fernando Camacho Vera, who is serving an almost record sentence of 15 years in penitentiary.

Louis-Samuel Perron
Press

“The so-called ‘easy’ money cost me three hospitalizations, a lack of self-confidence, an emotional and anxiety disorder and depression,” laments Océane *.

Bianca * was 20 years old. Her friend Océane was a teenager. Both wanted to make quick money. Both succumbed to the promises and deceptions of Luis Fernando Camacho Vera, pimp and serial rapist. “I regret having crossed [l’accusé]. It didn’t help me live my dreams, ”says Bianca.

But the two women are not the only ones who have fallen into the clutches of Luis Fernando Camacho Vera. Between 2014 and 2017, the 38-year-old Montrealer claimed no less than 11 victims, including 8 girls aged 15 to 17.

In the case of Bianca and Océane, Luis Fernando Camacho Vera was sentenced to five years in detention last November after pleading guilty to four counts of procuring. But this sentence has no effect in practice, since Luis Fernando Camacho Vera will serve it at the same time as his almost record sentence of 15 years in penitentiary imposed in November 2019 for nine other victims.

He was rolling on gold

His modus operandi was well established. Under the nickname “Carlos”, he lured his victims with fictitious advertisements for receptionist or masseuse jobs. He would take advantage of a job “interview” to sexually assault them – in most cases – and then encourage them to become prostitutes. The criminal was rolling in gold with his escort business.

This is what happened to Bianca. The young woman recently arrived in Montreal hoped to raise $ 10,000 to enroll in the school of her dreams. She then applied for a receptionist position. But at the living room, Luis Fernando Camacho Vera told him that the position did not exist and asked him to undress. “He assaulted me,” Bianca said in a brave account.

For a few months, Bianca thus prostituted herself for the benefit of Luis Fernando Camacho Vera and his accomplice Claire Nicolle (who must receive her sentence in the winter). Bianca could keep $ 60 and keep the tips.

Today, Bianca still suffers from the consequences of those hellish months. “Anguish is now part of my daily life,” she says. She claims to avoid the metro, bars and hotels which remind her of customers who have “passed over her as if [elle] was a rag doll ”.

“The worst consequence is guilt and shame. I tried to hide this trauma, ”said the young woman, who claims to have taken five years to rebuild her confidence.

It was Bianca who introduced her friend Océane to the pimp. From the first meeting, Luis Fernando Camacho Vera has a sexual relationship with the teenager. A “hiring condition”, according to Océane. During the summer, she worked as an escort and in a massage parlor on rue Jean-Talon for the pimp. Océane told clients to be 19 years old.

“When I was 16, the accused taught me that money can be easily earned. All you need is sex and that’s it. It is also simple, as if it were a trivial act like any other subject, “regrets Océane, who still suffers from serious after-effects five years later.

“The horrors experienced in this world affect the possibility of developing an intimate relationship. I do not have confidence anymore. I feel like I’m lying to people to hide my painful past. I am ashamed. Ashamed of having fallen into this trap, into this spinning wheel. I am suspicious, anxious and hurt, ”she said in a letter read to the court.

The pimp apologized as he addressed the victims in the room. “I am extremely sorry to have brought you into this environment. I really, really blame myself. I am aware of the repercussions and I have to live with all the harm I have done to you and to the other victims, ”insisted Luis Fernando Camacho Vera.

* Fictitious names