published11. September 2022, 11:31
District Court of Zurich Man forces woman into prostitution and has to go to prison for 6.5 years
A 37-year-old Romanian has been convicted of human trafficking and false imprisonment.
District Court in Zurich.
5.2.2022
20min / Taddeo Cerletti
Langstrasse in Zurich during the day.
20min/Michael Scherrer
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A Romanian sent a compatriot out on the streets with false promises.
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The Zurich District Court has sentenced the 37-year-old to 6.5 years in prison.
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The court has thus passed the prosecutor’s application, which demanded six years.
A 37-year-old Romanian recruited a penniless compatriot in the summer of 2016 with promises of a job and the pretense of marriage and then sent her out on the prosperity. The then 23-year-old woman fell in love with him. First she got in Bremen in Germany, where the man worked as a pimp. In May/June 2018 she worked in Zurich in the Langstrasse district and in Niederdorf. Here, too, she had to give most of her daily income to her husband. The case came to light when the woman reported the pimp to the Zurich city police. He was arrested in July 2018.
At the trial in mid-August, the prosecutor asked for a six-year prison sentence. Now the district court of Zurich has even gone over her application, as can be seen from the judgment published on Thursday. The court sentenced the man to six years, five months and 20 days in prison for human trafficking, deprivation of liberty, promotion of prostitution and other offences. He is also expelled from the country for seven years and has to pay the victim 30,000 francs in damages. However, the Romanian will not be in prison much longer as he has been in custody for over four years.
“Accepted in a planned and manipulative manner”
At the trial, the Romanian denied the allegations. “These are lies, I never took money from the woman and gave her instructions.” He gave her the phone number of a “brothel” in Bremen, but the two women settled everything between themselves. His lawyer asked for an acquittal. Her client really loved the woman and proposed to her. She also criticized the length of the investigation.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, said that the pimp had exploited the victim for around two years with his planned and manipulative approach. “He regarded the woman as his property and made her believe that they had a future together, even though four women worked for him.” The victim’s lawyer spoke of a shameless exploitation. He beat her, locked her up, controlled her and gave her drugs. The woman has a child from the accused and is in a protected environment.