Supreme Court of Canada won’t hear appeal of convicted BC sex trafficker

Canada’s highest court will not hear the appeal of a British Columbia man who was convicted of trafficking 11 female victims, including underage girls, for sex.

Reza Moazami, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison, had asked the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a decision handed down in September by the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

That court dismissed his appeals against his 2014 conviction for 30 prostitution-related offenses, as well as a later conviction for attempting to obstruct justice by trying to influence the testimony of a witness.

Moazami had requested the appeals on the grounds that the behavior of a former Vancouver detective, Jim Fisher, who investigated his case, might have interfered with his right to a fair trial.

Fisher pleaded guilty in 2018 to breach of trust for kissing a 21-year-old victim in the Moazami case as well as sexual exploitation and breach of trust involving a 17-year-old girl who was victimized in another case related to prostitution.

As usual, the Supreme Court of Canada did not give reasons for its decision Thursday to deny Moazami’s application for leave to appeal.