Man accused of human trafficking faces March inquiry

45-year-old Hampton-area man faces 10 charges after January arrest in RCMP human trafficking investigation

Article content A Hampton-area man accused of human trafficking has chosen a jury trial and will face a preliminary inquiry, court heard Wednesday. The 45-year-old Damascus man faces 10 charges including sexual assault and human trafficking dating between August 2023 and April 2024, as well as sexual assault against a second person between July 2025 and Jan. 9 of this year. Court heard Wednesday that he opted for a jury trial in June, but before the case goes to the Court of Kings Bench, the man requested a preliminary inquiry on two charges.

Brunswick News is withholding information subject to a publication ban that covers the identity of alleged victims in the case. Hampton RCMP said in January that they arrested a man following an investigation that began in November. It involved allegations of human trafficking involving multiple adult women in Moncton, Saint John and Hampton.

The defendant first appeared on the charges that month, and was released on house arrest, according to court documents. The man appeared through lawyers Wednesday in Saint John provincial court. Lawyer Jack MacKinnon, appearing for Nathan Gorham, said that the defence was seeking a preliminary inquiry on two of the eight charges regarding the first victim.

A preliminary inquiry is a provincial court hearing where a judge decides if a case has enough evidence to go to trial. Judge Anne Jeffries asked what that meant given that the case had already been earmarked for a higher court. Crown prosecutor Marc-André Desjardins, appearing by phone, said he understood that because of how the charges appeared on paper, the lawyers had proceeded in June without realizing that a preliminary inquiry was available on two charges, human trafficking and sexual assault with a weapon.

A preliminary inquiry on those two charges was scheduled for March 15 to 16, 2027, with the remainder of the first set of charges to follow along. MacKinnon entered elections of judge and jury on the other charges dating to 2025 and 2026, and they were set for the next Motions Day in the Court of King’s Bench. The charges against the man include sexual assault, sex assault with a weapon, assault, assault causing bodily harm, forcible confinement, human trafficking, uttering threats and administering a noxious thing against one person from August 2023 to April 2024 in Damascus “and elsewhere in the province of New Brunswick,” according to documents.

The man is also charged with sexual assault and uttering threats against a second person from July 1, 2025, to Jan. 9, 2026, in Damascus and elsewhere in the province.