Couple jailed for Yorkshire and Norfolk sex trade
- Published
The couple made about £40,000 in a six-month period, Leeds Crown Court heard
A husband and wife who sexually exploited seven vulnerable women in what police said "amounted to modern slavery" have been jailed.
Fabiani Alvez De Souza, 42, and Gareth Derby, 53, both of Town Street, Upwell, Norfolk, were each sentenced to five years at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
The pair made about £40,000 from running a prostitution business out of flats in North Yorkshire and Norfolk.
They were convicted of various offences after a two-week trial in December.
De Souza was convicted under the Sexual Offences Act of eight offences of controlling prostitution for gain, along with seven offences under the Modern Slavery Act for arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation.
Derby was found guilty of two charges in relation to controlling prostitution for gain and arranging or facilitating the travel of another person with a view to exploitation.
The seven victims involved, aged between 26 and 60, were from Brazil, Portugal and Spain.
After the pair's sentencing, Det Con Leah Kitchen, of North Yorkshire Police's Organised Crime Unit, said De Souza had claimed she was just helping friends who were working prostitutes, while Derby had said he was unaware of what was going on.
"The truth of the matter is that they, together, were operating an illegal business involving human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain," she said.
CCTV images showed the couple clearing out the flat in Harrogate
The couple's activities emerged when police launched an operation to identify and support vulnerable sex workers.
Officers began making routine visits to a rented flat in Bower Road, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and spoke to women working at the property.
It became clear the flat was operating as a brothel and that another woman was arranging the women's travel and managing their activities.
The North Yorkshire force's organised crime team established that De Souza rented the flat and had posted and paid for adverts on an adult website and had paid for similar adverts relating to another rented address in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
The couple arranged flights for the women to the UK and onwards to the properties they rented.
Police said the first occasion was on 27 September 2017, when Derby and De Souza drove to Manchester Airport and collected a woman who had arrived from Amsterdam.
They drove her to Harrogate and the following day an advert was placed online, paid for by De Souza.
The couple then left Harrogate, but over the course of the next month several cash deposits were made into De Souza's bank account.
Records showed De Souza then paid for the same woman to return to Amsterdam on 29 October.
In August 2018, North Yorkshire and Norfolk police officers attended the couple's then home at Walpole St Andrew in Norfolk.
The couple had converted their garage into a flat to be used for their illegal business, the court heard
Officers found one woman there who had been seen at the flat in Harrogate and they discovered another woman engaged in prostitution in a converted flat in the garage.
A detailed financial examination showed De Souza and Derby had spent several thousands of pounds setting up the business.
However, cash deposits amounting to more than £40,000 had been paid into their bank accounts over a six-month period.
"This considerable sum of cash was gained through the exploitation of seven vulnerable women in what amounted to modern day slavery," Det Con Kitchen said.
Had the initial operation by the force not taken place, "this fledgling international sex trafficking business may have grown significantly without coming to the attention of the police," she added.
In addition to their five-year jail terms, De Souza and Derby were also given Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders to last for 10 years after their release from prison.
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