Pair who made £24k from three brothels jailed
- Published
Christina Motta (left) and Martin Cheetham made £24,000 in four months from the brothels
A couple who made £24,000 in four months from brothels they ran in Bristol, Oxford and Milton Keynes have been jailed.
Martin Cheetham and Christina Motta, both from Milton Keynes, pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court in November to running the brothels.
They also admitted controlling prostitution for gain in relation to a woman found at the Bristol address.
Motta, 35, was jailed for 18 months and Cheetham, 42, received 12 months.
The brothels operated between November 2015 and April 2016.
A woman found in the brothel in Bristol was taken to safe accommodation
Avon and Somerset Police said Cheetham and Motta created and maintained online escort advertisements and arranged travel between brothels for the woman found in Bristol.
Once identified, the woman was moved to safe accommodation outside Bristol by the Salvation Army's modern slavery team.
Det Con Dale Morgan said: "Cheetham and Motta deliberately took advantage of this vulnerable woman working in their brothels, making more than £24,000 in four months.
"It is unacceptable they should benefit from their activities and we will seek to confiscate their illegal earnings through the Proceeds of Crime Act.
"It took immense courage for the victim to support our inquiry and I hope these sentences will give other victims of controlled prostitution and modern slavery the strength and belief to come forward."