RUKKHASERANEE: JAIL LOOMS FOR MADAME WHO KEPT THAI WOMAN AS SEX SLAVE

A madam who lured a Thai woman to the UK and forced her to work in the sex trade after promising her a job as a masseuse is behind bars.

Pimnapat Rukkhaseranee, 37, paid for the woman to fly over from Bangkok before locking her into a £35,000 debt bond and forcing her into prostitution in west London.

The woman was forced to service clients for up to eight hours at a time and was sometimes made to perform sex acts without protection, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Rukkhaseranee – known as Pim – sobbed as she was convicted of trafficking the woman into the UK and controlling prostitution for gain but cleared of a further charge of trafficking the woman within the UK.

She and Lukasz Skarbonkiewicz, 32, were found guilty by a jury of possessing crystal meth after the highly addictive narcotic was found at the Shaftesbury Hotel in Paddington.

Skarbonkiewicz, who was cleared of trafficking charges, was later found with two suitcases full of women’s shoes, clothing, £7500 in £50 notes, and six bags of the class A drug.

Pim had confiscated the victim’s passport when she landed at Heathrow airport on June 21 2013 and posted her picture on various escort sites.

She told her she had to work without payment until she had paid back the £35,000 she claimed it had cost to fly her to Britain.

The victim told the court she believed she was coming to the UK to work as a masseuse.

Ian Mcloughlin, prosecuting, said: ‘She was then told the massage house was full, with Pim telling her she can’t do massage work so she would have to do sex work.

‘Pim arranged for her to have photographs taken for a website, where the woman was in lingerie and swimwear.

‘She was told Pim had paid a lot of money for her to come over, and she owed her approximately £35,000.’

The victim ended up working out of a single room in a brothel to help pay off her supposed debt.

Mr McLoughlin explained that some night she would be booked on to work eight hour shifts where the conditions were less than ideal.

‘Sometimes Pim would arrange for her to have sex with clients without a condom on.

‘Some clients bought drugs, and she would have to administer them during the intercourse.’

‘She made no money from her sex work.’

Police visited the house in July 2013 for immigration purposes and Pim was arrested by immigration officers soon after.

Mr Mcloughlin said: ‘It was apparent to police it was a brothel, there were bags of condoms, bags of lubricant, and hundreds of tablets of Viagra.’

Skarbonkiewicz was said to have run the brothel in Pim’s absence but he was cleared of being involved in the business.

Pim was cleared of allegations that the woman was later moved to a house in High Wycombe, Bucks, to continue on the same line of work.

Police had found the crystal meth in a room used by Skarbonkiewicz at the Shaftesbury Hotel in Paddington on 11 July, 2014.

Mr Mcloughlin said: ‘A guest reported finding a bag of a crystal like substance.

‘Police checked the records and that room had been used by Mr Skarbonkiewicz from 5 July, and he had moved out the day before.

‘They then checked his current room, where there were two suitcases full of women’s shoes and clothing, £7500 in £50 notes, and six bags of crystal meth.’

Skarbonkiewicz admitted to police that he recognised the victim but denied any involvement in the sex industry.

Mr Mcloughlin said: ‘Pim denied knowing who she was.

‘She also denied being who they thought, telling them she was just a cleaner.’

Rukkhaseranee, of Brighton Road, Surbiton, was convicted of trafficking a person into the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation, one of controlling prostitution for gain and one of possessing a controlled drug of class A with intent.

She was cleared of a further charge of trafficking persons within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Skarbonkiewicz, of Rankin Close, Colindale, was convicted of possessing a controlled drug of class A with intent but cleared of trafficking a person into the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation and controlling prostitution for gain.

He was granted conditional bail ahead of sentence on June 20.

Rukkhaseranee was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 19.