Winnipeg woman spared jail for running Wolseley brothel

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This article was published 15/02/2012 (5040 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg housewife who spent years working as a leather-clad dominatrix has been spared a jail sentence for turning her cosy, two-storey Wolseley home into a brothel.

The 48-year-old married mother of two teens — known to her customers as “Sinful Sydnee” — pleaded guilty last year to the rare charge of keeping a common bawdy house.

Similar charges against her husband were dropped as part of the plea deal. Justice officials say the facts of this case make it one of a kind. Her real name is under a court-ordered publication ban to protect her children.

The woman returned to court for sentencing Wednesday and was given three years of probation and a $2,000 fine. The Crown had been seeking a jail term but conceded it could be served conditionally in the community.

Police arrested the woman in June 2009 following an extensive investigation that began with a tip and included several days and nights of surveillance of the Stiles Street residence.

Police learned the woman had been running her sex-for-cash business since at least 2007, employing at least a dozen young adult women and even one 18-year-old man to offer up various kinky services to customers.

One of the rooms in the house had been transformed into a storage facility for chains, whips, paddles and other sex toys used in what was clearly a “family affair,” court was told.

The woman’s then 11-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son were also living in the home and were apparently aware of their mother’s profession.

“Her son knew his mother to be a pimp, a madam of a bawdy house. He provided a full picture of what was happening inside,” Crown attorney Michael Desautels told court.

The teen admitted he even helped “recruit” a handful of the people who ended up working for his mother after meeting them at a youth help line he was volunteering at, court was told.

He also admitted to doing ecstasy and cocaine with his mother in the home, thanking her for providing “a positive, controlled environment” for him to experience.

The young daughter also appeared to be “well-versed” in what her mother was doing, even asking police at one point “Why is it so bad?”

Even her husband got in the act, helping to photograph the “service providers” and uploading their faces to a website the woman ran, which attracted clients from across Canada and even outside the country.

“She was at the forefront of the sex trade in Winnipeg,” said Desautels.

Defence lawyer Evan Roitenberg told court his client firmly believed she was providing a safe alternative for young people who wanted to work in the sex trade — something she herself had dreamed about since she was a teenager. By keeping them off the streets and screening all clients, the woman remains adamant she wasn’t hurting anyone.

She also claims her daughter wasn’t fully aware of what was happening in the home, believing she was running a tarot card reading service, he said.

The woman is now living in Vancouver, where she is volunteering with an organization that helps sex-trade workers get off the streets, court was told.

She is living apart from her husband, who has custody of their now 15-year-old daughter. Their 21-year-old son lives on his own.

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