Servicing Canada's soldiers: Sex worker goes public over fight with military

A Canadian sex worker who offers discounts to members of the Canadian Armed Forces alleges that she’s facing potential charges by military police for advertising her services and wearing an army uniform.

As first reported by the Ottawa Citizen, Christina Lea Gilchrist is a sex worker based in Kingston, Ontario — which is home to a base for the Canadian Armed Forces.

Daily Hive contacted Gilchrist, and she told us she’d moved to Kingston in 2012 and got involved in the local BDSM scene. During this, she met a soldier “who put on his uniform” after engaging in “an intense military course called contact after capture” that “cemented soldiers as a fetish” for her. 

As such, Gilchrist’s services are military-themed. Her website shows her dressed up in various military-themed outfits. She also has a 25% discount for Canadian Armed Forces members, but individuals must show their military ID to take advantage of it.

Gilchrist’s website and social media platforms also clearly state that she is not a real soldier, is not enlisted, and is not affiliated with the CAF.

However, Gilchrist has recently come under fire for offering her services to military personnel and says military police are threatening to press charges against her because she wears a military uniform.

Daily Hive reviewed a screenshot from Gilchrist showing a memo allegedly sent by a Canadian Armed Forces email address.

It states that she is under investigation by military police and details the charges she could be facing.

The sender says they have reviewed her website, “in which she advertises her services wearing a military uniform, which is a controlled piece of clothing, but also displaying other parties engaging in sexual acts while also in uniform.”

“You have committed two offences under the criminal code,” the email states. The offences listed include:

• Advertising Sexual Services contrary to section 286 of the Criminal Code of Canada; and
• Unlawful Use of Military Uniforms contrary to section 419 (a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

“Further, as our investigation continues, if it is discovered that you received your uniform from another Canadian Forces member, then an additional charge is present,” reads the email.

Daily Hive contacted the CAF asking if it could provide details on Gilchrist’s claims and potential charges and the detailed reasoning for these charges.

“Canadian Forces Base Kingston is aware of explicit advertising found within accommodations buildings on base,” a spokesperson told us, adding that the Military Police and Canadian Forces National Investigation Service are investigating the matter.

“Canadian Forces Base Kingston takes this issue seriously, and out of respect for the integrity of the investigation, it would be inappropriate to speculate or to provide more information at this time,” they concluded.

A military police memo makes the rounds

The CAF allegedly sent a memo to its members that seems related to Gilchrist. A screenshot of this memo has been making rounds since December.

Daily Hive has asked the CAF if it sent the memo and will update this story when it responds.

Instagram page Corporal News Network, which describes itself as a military meme page, shared the memo on December 15.

It states that a situation involving a “professional escort service advertising within various CFB Kingston quarters aimed at military clients” is under investigation. Gilchrist’s name is not mentioned in the memo.

The emailed memo acknowledges that “being an escort is not an offence in itself,” but “the procuring of sexual services is a criminal code offence.”

In Canada, the sale of sexual services is not criminalized, but “purchasing sexual services and community in any place for that purpose” is a criminal offence.

The memo states that “the escort in question” has photos of unidentified clients in CAF uniforms in “compromising situations.”

“Aside from this being a potential offence, it could lead to other more serious consequences and engaging in exploitation clearly goes against our CAF Code of Ethics and Values.”

The email stresses that engaging with this escort is risky because “these services often have links to organized crime and members can be blackmailed if their names are known,” which could lead to “family and security issues.”

CAF members were asked to refrain from interacting with “these types of providers” and report any instances with these types of persons soliciting on base.”

Gilchrist responded to the possibility of her trying to blackmail CAF members who use her services.

“It wouldn’t be possible for me to blackmail these soldiers if Canadian law was just. If they weren’t breaking the law by paying me, nobody would care,” she said.

She also responded to the comments about her wearing military gear.

“I don’t own a fishing licence. Would they threaten to charge me for fishing if my house was filled with fishing gear? They can’t treat me like a criminal simply because it’s possible for me to do something criminal. It’s possible for anybody to commit a crime,” she wrote.

Gilchrist told Daily Hive that the attention this incident has brought to her business has helped it.

“My website has had 14,762 unique hits in the last 30 days, and 3,414 were in just the last seven days. I am now a top 8.5% creator on OnlyFans, thanks to the Canadian Armed Forces’ stupidity. (Genuinely, thank you!),” she said in her email. “I’m getting calls and emails from all over the country asking when I will be coming to these men’s towns.”

Sex worker safety concerns

With the attention also comes risk to Gilchrist’s safety.

She says she is currently protecting herself by only corresponding with clients who book a hotel for her services.

“I am currently not stepping foot on land owned by the Department of National Defense,” she said.

Gilchrist believes accusing sex workers of having ties to criminal organizations and implying that sex workers extort their clients is “doing the exact opposite of keeping us safe.”

“If our clients are afraid to tell us who they are, our lives are at risk. Somebody needs to know where I am and who I’m with for my safety. I can’t feel safe alone with an anonymous stranger, who I would have no legal recourse against if his identity was unknown,” she said.

The 32-year-old also accused the CAF of heightening the negative stigma against a “vulnerable population that consists mostly of disabled people, single mothers, and immigrants,” or a combination of all three.

“Canada needs to implement FULL DECRIMINALIZATION to protect the most at-risk people in our community,” urged the Ontario resident. “Sex workers are your neighbours. Sex workers are in your family. We deserve to feel safe at work. We can’t do that if our clients are afraid of being charged.”