Traffickers jailed for forcing girl into prostitution
A GANG of Rumanians have been jailed for a total of seven years for trafficking a teenage girl to Britain and forcing her to work as a prostitute on the streets in East London. They befriended the 19-year-old in Romania with a promise to find her a job
A GANG of Rumanians have been jailed for a total of seven years for trafficking a teenage girl to Britain and forcing her to work as a prostitute on the streets in East London.
Vasile Oaches, 27, and Vasile Maris, 29, were convicted of trafficking for sexual exploitation and controlling prostitution, while Gheorghe Mihali, 22, was found guilty of controlling prostitution.
The gang befriended the 19-year-old in Romania and promised to find her a job in London.
The girl arrived in September by car with the men and two other girls, only to be forced to work as a prostitute.
They threatened her with violence and intimidation and forced her to hand over all the money she made.
She was kept in a house in Church Road, Manor Park, but was rescued by a man she had known in Romania who came to the house to meet Oaches. He asked if he could pay for her to spend the night with him. The pair never returned.
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The girl eventually went to police and the house in Church Road and another round the corner in Meanley Road were raided. Two other girls caught in the prostitution trap, including one just 17 years old, had also managed to escape, it emerged.
Det Sgt Roddy Llewellyn said after today's sentences at Croydon Crown Court: "Vulnerable young women are attracted by the promise of riches, only to find themselves forced to work on the streets as prostitutes.
"But we've removed this organised criminal network and turned the fear they used on their victims back on them."
Vasile was jailed for a total of two-and-a-half years, Maris three-and-a-half years and Mihai 12 months.
