“Easy prey” to exploit. Two men, including a minor, were sentenced to prison for having prostituted around ten underage girls whom they recruited from child welfare homes, the Strasbourg prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.
One of the two pimps, aged 29 and of French nationality, was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, a fine of 10,000 euros and banned from working with minors. The second, a minor, was sentenced to two years plus one year of probation.
Operating in the territory of the Strasbourg metropolitan area, they prostituted girls aged 15 to 18 placed in shelters for at least 10 months, said Strasbourg deputy prosecutor in charge of organized crime, Yann Martinez.
“It’s an unfortunately classic mechanism, with kids doing this, some for the phone, some for makeup, and who have trouble seeing the bad,” he declared. “Some started prostitution before and others continued after. » “They are easy prey because they do not recognize themselves as victims,” he added.
Around ten victims have been identified. These, who could make 10 to 15 passes per day, only received 20 to 30% of their amount. The passes mainly took place in apartments rented on Airbnb, and customers were recruited on social networks, in particular Snapchat.
The investigation began in February 2023 following a denunciation, then accelerated from the summer, when the homes made reports, and especially after one of the pimps was kidnapped by the family of one of the victims, investigators fearing that victims will take justice into their own hands. The two suspects were arrested in November 2023 and placed in pre-trial detention.
