Pair sentenced after sex 'prisoner' fled to police

Gheorghe Bonculescu and Elena Birovescu pleaded guilty on 15 January

Two people have been sentenced for offences after a woman was trafficked into the country and forced into sex work.

Gheorghe Bonculescu, 27, of Warmsworth Road in Doncaster, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for controlling prostitution for gain.

Elena Birovescu, 27, of the same address was handed to a two-year suspended sentence for money laundering.

The pair pleaded guilty on 15 January at Hull Crown Court and were sentenced on 13 February.

The victim approached British Transport Police at Hull Paragon station in December 2022 and told them she had been forced into sex work.

The court was told she had run away from a property in Hull, which had been rented by Bonculsecu as her place of work.

The woman had been advertised for sex work online after Bonculescu had arranged for her travel to England.

Over seven months Birovescu had put £5,000 cash in a bank account, which she later transferred to Bonculescu.

Judge Mark Bury said: "She was coerced to see many customers with STIs because of you, the reality is she wasn't benefitting at all. She was a sexual prisoner."

Det Sgt Richard Kirk, from Humberside Police's modern slavery and human trafficking team, said: “Bonculescu and Birovescu are predators who manipulated a vulnerable woman and used her for their own financial gain.

“I would like to commend the woman for the bravery she has shown throughout the course of this investigation."

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]