Amber Maloney, the owner of a day camp for autistic children, has been released on bail, but her husband, convicted sex offender Lauriston Maloney, remains in prison after the two were charged with crimes related to human trafficking.
Ms. Maloney, a 36-year-old woman from Essa Township, Ontario, was charged with trafficking a person, receiving material benefit resulting from trafficking a person, administering a noxious substance, fraud over $5,000, and utter forged document.
Mr. Maloney has been charged with two counts of assault, trafficking a person, receiving material benefit resulting from trafficking a person, and forcible confinement. According to police, the man is a sex offender with several prior convictions that include “human trafficking of children.”
He was arrested just two days after Nottawasaga Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) issued a community safety advisory warning that Mr. Maloney was a convicted sex offender with access to the children’s camp operated by his wife at their rural property.
The OPP said at the time that it issued the advisory about Mr. Maloney as a precautionary measure to protect public safety and, in the course of the investigation, received additional information.
Her lawyer, Robert Ratusny, who could not be reached for comment, told reporters Ms. Maloney had no previous arrests and wanted to rejoin her family, which includes a 10-year-old son and a 5-year-old son, according to Ms. Maloney’s Facebook profile.
In July, the woman’s social media showed plenty of photos of herself, family, children, and the unlicensed Beating the Odds children’s autism day camp and therapy site she ran from the couple’s property. As of press time on Aug. 14, the profile had been wiped of anything personal.
Police said the victim in the case was not an attendee of the Beating the Odds day camp.
Before her arrest, Ms. Maloney made a statement to CTV News Barrie on July 18 stating her husband was not near the children at the day camp.
“Yes, we share the same property address, but he does not work with these kids. He has his own job that brings him off-site and allows me to operate solely without him,” she said.
Laureli Barrett, a mother from Ontario, came forward on July 17 stating on her social media page that her child attended the camp until the day Mr. Maloney’s previous criminal record became public knowledge.
“Im reaching out to all barrie and surrounding areas. This child care center / camp / ibi aba therapy center ( home ) is still up and running with the owners husband still living there and around children daily . My child went there for a year and a half up until today,” wrote Ms. Barrett.
The visibly distraught mother alleged she saw Mr. Maloney three times a week at the camp. She organized protests two days in a row outside the Maloneys’ property before the couple was arrested by OPP. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The arrest of the married couple came one day after Mr. Maloney spoke with CTV News on July 18. He spoke to the media after the OPP released a safety advisory that warned about his presence in the community. The advisory stated that he allegedly lived at the home and had regular access to the children’s camp.
“I’m not a predator. I’m not somebody who targets children. It is ridiculous what the police are doing,” said Mr. Maloney. He said he had previously owned an escort service and was charged with trafficking a 14-year-old girl in Mississauga in 2004. He claimed the girl lied about her age.
Mr. Maloney, who said he had nothing to do with the autism centre, operates a company called High Class Renovations. On April 26, 2022, the business posted a video of the autism camp under construction. Other videos show the couple’s house in Utopia, with Mr. Maloney walking through discussing the planned renovations to the camp’s location.
