The B.C. government is denying a Prince George woman's allegation that the Ministry of Children and Family Services failed to come to her aid when she was coerced into prostitution as a 15-year-old girl.
In a response filed Monday to the woman's lawsuit, the government admits she was in the care of the ministry when, in December 1999, she was moved from a group home to a women's shelter in the city but denies there was no supervision for teenagers at the shelter.
The response lists as outside the government's knowledge her claim that while she was at the shelter, she was connected to criminals who operated a prostitution enterprise out of a home on Spruce Street and through a combination drugs, alcohol and "various means of coercion, violence and threats" had forced her into "a life of prostitution and drug use."
The response also denies that she advised ministry employees of her situation on multiple occasions and had for their help to remove her from the home only to be rebuffed.
The response goes on to deny the woman's claims of breaches of care and fiduciary duty.
The response was filed in response to a lawsuit filed in April.
The Citizen has opted against publishing her name and current vocation. The allegations have not been tested in court.
