http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14763402

A former RAF man from Belfast allegedly provided security for eastern European women trafficked into Northern Ireland.

Lyle Lamont, 22, of Squires Hill Crescent, is alleged to be linked to a crime gang behind the cross-border vice racket.

He was refused bail at Belfast's High Court along with a 22-year-old Czech woman accused of arranging bookings with prostitutes.

Both are charged with controlling prostitution and brothel keeping.

Mr Lamont and Jana Mahovska, with an address at Cavendish Street in the city, had their bail applications rejected.

Mr Justice Gillen said: "If the prosecution case is correct this is a horrifying and shameful tale of organised crime and exploitation of young women trafficked from eastern Europe to Northern Ireland.

"Having been brought here these young women, alone and doubtless friendless, were used and abused by predatory males on an organised basis over a lengthy period of time."

The two suspects were arrested and charged along with 29-year-old Bronislav Rybensky, of College Central Apartments, King Street, Belfast, following a three-month police investigation which led to six alleged victims being rescued.

Opposing bail for Mr Lamont, Crown counsel Kate McKay said he was the tenant of one of the apartments searched by police.

Deleting data

It was claimed that Mr Rybensky had told some of the prostitutes that Mr Lamont was to provide security for them.

Mrs McKay also alleged that Mr Lamont was deleting data from the memory of his mobile phone as he was arrested.

The defence told the court his client joined the RAF after leaving school and served for seven months before being medically discharged.

He said Mr Rybensky had offered to help the accused with the rent on an apartment in return for letting three women stay there.

Defence lawyer Gavan Duffy said: "He says he is not naive. He realised what was happening but denies he had anything at all to do with controlling these women.

"Mr Rybensky may well have told these women that Mr Lamont had a particular role of someone to look after security. But that is not the case," he said.

The court heard alleged trafficking victims claimed Ms Mahovska took calls from clients and arranged bookings.

'Serious consequences'

She admitted working as a prostitute herself for up to five months after arriving in Belfast but said she stopped after beginning a relationship with Mr Rybensky's half-brother.

Her barrister, Paul Bacon, said she initially refused Mr Rybensky's request for her to book appointments, only to be told there would be "serious consequences".

"She effectively was a victim of this enterprise," he added.

"The only difference between her and the other girls who have now been protected at a secret location was the fact that she was forced to make phone calls to assist Mr Rybensky in his operation."

However, Mr Justice Gillen ruled that both accused should remain in custody.

"The courts in Northern Ireland will not tolerate this behaviour and, if convicted, those involved in this exploitation will undoubtedly receive very severe prison sentences," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14023871

The PSNI could do more to help victims of sex trafficking, the head of Amnesty International in Ireland has said.

Patrick Corrigan said the police are letting victims down because they do not feel safe enough to go to court.

"There are things that could be done here. We can better protect the women and we can better prosecute the offenders," he said.

His remarks follow a BBC investigation that found up to £500,000 every week is spent on prostitution in NI.

Police estimate there are 88 brothels in operation, with Northern Ireland having a higher demand for prostitution than most other areas of Europe.

The brothels are usually run by local gangs, including paramillitaries, but there are also foreign groups.

Violence

Many of the women working in the brothels have been trafficked from abroad. They are held captive and forced into prostitution.

Mr Corrigan said men who willingly pay for sex with these women should face charges of rape.

"I think that it is a case of rape when it is clear to the person buying their services that that woman is there under false pretences or under threat of violence," he added.

"I think those men are potentially responsible for rape. That is what it feels like on the receiving end."

However, Mr Corrigan admitted successfully prosecuting these men would be "extremely difficult".

"Obviously this is a very underground crime. These women are terrified of the people who have put them in that position and terrified of being sent back to their countries of origin.

"I think those women are not yet properly receiving assurance that they will be safe and protected in order that they can freely co-operate with authorities and help bring forward prosecutions."

Convictions

The problem is most evident in Belfast, but other towns and cities - such as Londonderry, Antrim, Enniskillen, Portadown and Bangor - are known to have brothels.

The gangs can make millions of pounds in a year by exploiting women they have brought to Northern Ireland illegally.

The PSNI have broken up some of the prostitution rings and rescued dozens of women from the sex trade over the last couple of years.

However, new women are being brought in from abroad and often the women are so traumatised by their experiences they can't help the police bring convictions against the gangs.

So far there have been no successful prosecutions.

PSNI Detective Inspector Douglas Grant said the public needed to know the full extent of the problem.

"There's a significant demand in Northern Ireland for prostitutes and that's larger than other parts of the UK and Europe," he said.

A County Down man who robbed a prostitute after putting a gun to her throat and telling her he was from the IRA has been jailed for six years.

A judge told Jonathan Robert McCloy, 23, of Mageralone Road in Drumaness his victim was a "vulnerable lady". The court heard that he stole £300 as well the woman's credit card and pin number in the robbery last February.

Two days later, he was arrested by police outside the apartment of another woman, a friend of the victim. The judge said that the prostitute, Anna Paula Olivera, would have had no idea the gun he pointed at her was a fake and that the sentence included a substantial deterrent to others.

'Preliminary precautions'

A prosecution lawyer told the court Ms Olivera, who advertised her services in a newspaper, had been warned about McCloy's mobile number by a friend when she was robbed two days previously.

When McCloy first rang Ms Olivera, he wanted to see her immediately but she told him she was busy. When he called back in the evening, he took what the prosecution lawyer described as "preliminary precautions" and allowed him into her apartment.

When inside, he showed her a handgun in the waistband of his trousers and told her that if she gave him her money, she would not be harmed. When Ms Olivera handed him £300, he told her he "owned the area and was from the IRA".

"Don't tell anybody or the police or you will get two years for prostitution," he had said. The lawyer described how McCloy then pulled out the gun, held it to her throat and demanded everything else of worth.

'Cocaine addiction'

Following the robbery, Ms Olivera told her friend what had happened and to beware a mobile number ending in 300. Two days later, her friend arranged to meet McCloy at her apartment in Victoria Place.

When he got out of the car, armed police arrested him and uncovered the imitation gun in his waistband. During interview, McCloy admitted what he had done, claiming it was because of his cocaine addiction.

A defence barrister said his client had viewed the women as easy targets but had shown remorse for his actions.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/prostitution/

In April it will become an offence to pay for sex with someone who has been forced, threatened, exploited or otherwise coerced or deceived into providing the sexual services by someone else who has engaged in such conduct for gain. If convicted of the offence you could face a fine of up to £1,000, a court summons and a criminal record and risk having your name mentioned in newspapers. It will be no defence for a person to say that they did not know the prostitute was being forced or threatened.

The laws on kerb-crawling are also changing If convicted of kerb crawling you could face:

a £1000 fine
losing your driving licence
exposure of your habits to family, friends and work colleagues

If convicted of paying for sex with someone who is under 18, you could be sentenced to a lengthly prison term. The maximum sentence for the offence varies according to the age of the victim and the sexual acts invovled.

UKNSWP has three months of funding to begin planning how a UK wide “Ugly Mugs” scheme could work, with another nine months expected. We’ll be talking to lots of people to make our plans as effective and inclusive as possible. At the end of the development project we’ll come up with proposals about how such a scheme could work. The aims would be to;

· Share information about people who commit crimes against sex workers & alert sex workers to dangerous people

· Give sex workers a safe, confidential way to report crimes against them

· Help catch people who commit crimes against sex workers

Provide statistics about crimes against sex workers so it is possible to create policies that prevent them
Show that crime against sex workers will not be tolerated and will be targeted by the police
As well as talking to sex work projects we want to talk to people in the sex industry about what they would want from the scheme and what would enable them to feel safe to share information into the scheme.

We will soon be holding meetings to discuss this and will let you know when they are arranged.

If in the meantime you have thoughts and ideas you would like to share, please contact Rosie, a long term IUSW/GMB member on rosiecamp1@aol.com You can give ideas by email, or Rosie can arrange to talk on the phone, or possibly meet with you one to one.