Limassol Criminal Court on Wednesday jailed four people for up to five years for running a sex trafficking and exploitation operation, in a case the court said was driven by an organised network of around 200 members operating in both government-controlled areas and the occupied north.
The four — two women aged 33 and 32, and two men aged 28 and 47 — pleaded guilty before sentencing. The heaviest sentence, five years, went to the two women for sexual exploitation of an adult. The 28-year-old man received 18 months and the 47-year-old man nine months.
The two women admitted charges of sexual exploitation of an adult, exploiting a sex worker, money laundering and running a brothel. The 33-year-old also admitted withholding personal documents, and the 32-year-old admitted theft and common assault. The 28-year-old admitted, jointly with the two women, sexual exploitation of an adult, and the 47-year-old admitted, jointly with the two women, exploiting a sex worker.
In its sentencing ruling, the court said the central feature of the case was the existence of an organised trafficking and exploitation network with clear evidence of planning, numbering around 200 members and operating in both government-controlled areas and the occupied north. The court treated this as an aggravating factor under Article 13 of Law 60(I)/2014.
The court found that the 33-year-old defendant had contacted the victim, arranged her passport and flight to Cyprus, and given her instructions for her arrival. On meeting the victim, she took her passport so she could not leave, and the following day arranged photographs and videos used to advertise sexual services on a website. Clients contacted her to arrange appointments. She collected the payments and set the victim’s share. She also took the victim’s residency card and SIM and deleted WhatsApp from her phone. She repeatedly threatened the victim that if she did not comply, she would instruct third parties to rape and beat her, and that her family abroad would be harmed.
The 32-year-old defendant acted in a similar way, the court said, exploiting the victim’s vulnerable position and posting online advertisements with photographs of the services she offered. She acted as the victim’s “supervisor” for a period of about a month, took the victim’s mobile phone and personal belongings — committing theft — and slapped her. She also asked third parties by phone to visit the victim, have sexual contact with her, and then beat her.
While neither woman was the mastermind of the operation, the court said, their roles could not be described as limited. The 33-year-old’s involvement was more serious, given its longer duration and her control of the victim’s documents. However, the court said her cooperation with police — including providing information that helped identify the other three defendants — was treated as a significant mitigating factor and was the reason both women received the same sentence on the joint charges.
The 28-year-old’s involvement was more limited, the court said. He helped the 33-year-old gain access to the online platform and create and post the advertisements for the victim’s services, and was paid out of the proceeds of prostitution. The 47-year-old acted as a driver, transporting the victim to a specific premises where the 33-year-old would collect her for the purposes of prostitution, also receiving a share of the proceeds.
In mitigation, the court took into account the defendants’ personal and family circumstances, their guilty pleas and their clean criminal records.