Members of prostitution ring in Szeged found guilty

Budapest (MTI) – The Court of Appeal in Szeged, in southern Hungary, convicted members of a prostitution ring on Thursday.

The court found the leader of the gang guilty of crimes including kidnapping, violation of personal freedom, pimping and assault. It sentenced the repeat offender to 15 years in a maximum security prison, while his accomplices received sentences between four-and-a-half and 13 years.

In 2008, the convicted men persuaded two women to work as prostitutes in Hungary and Holland.

In early 2010, the women travelled to Switzerland to ply their trade but tried to return home in June after disappointment with their earnings. The men refused to let them leave Switzerland, claiming the women had not earned a return on the money invested in them. The victims who were relatives filed charges and one of the men was arrested. The others threatened to kill the women unless they withdrew the charges before kidnapping one of them.

Given the defendants’ criminal records and the nature of their crimes, a lighter sentence was out of question, Judge Istvan Hegedus said.

Source: mtva.hu