A wicked gang were found to have lured women into moving to the UK, by seducing them on dating apps with promises of romance. But, when they eventually arrived in the country these women were then forced into brothels.
NewsUK NewsYorkshireWicked gang seduced women through a dating app romance then forced them into brothelsThe gang used the dating app Badoo to seduce women
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Wieslaw Michniewicz, 53, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A wicked gang were found to have lured women into moving to the UK, by seducing them on dating apps with promises of romance. But, when they eventually arrived in the country these women were then forced into brothels.
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Wieslaw Michniewicz, 52, and his then-wife Aleksandra Timoszek, 32, worked with Mariusz Seretny, 45, to entice women from eastern Europe to the UK, often by using dating apps. When these women moved to the UK, they were then forced to offer sexual services in brothels in Leeds and Sheffield, Leeds Live reports.
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Leeds Crown Court heard the couple would recruit women over the dating app Badoo or through employment adverts before forcing them to work at brothels, including Winstons Health and Leisure in Dewsbury Road, Leeds, and Diplomat Ltd, in Attercliffe Road, Sheffield. This was until one brave victim anonymously contacted West Yorkshire Police, which launched Operation Laggenend in July 2016.
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Officers conducted surveillance outside the home of Michniewicz and Timoszek in Willow Avenue, Burley, and saw the comings and goings of the girls targeted as well as the couple themselves.
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On Friday, January 23 Prosecutor Sharon Beattie told the court: "Wieslaw Michniewicz, and Aleksandra Timoszek set up a highly lucrative business in 2015 and 2016 in which they lured young women to the UK under the promise of legitimate work or romantic relationships. Upon coming into the UK, the women ended up working in brothels as prostitutes under the control of Wieslaw Michniewicz and Aleksandra Timoszek. They were assisted by the other two (Mariusz Seretny and Marta Seretny)."
In a victim impact statement, one woman said: "What happened in England has had a huge impact on my entire life afterwards. After returning to Poland I was always looking over my shoulder for a long time. I was afraid there would be able to bring me back there again. I lived in shame that they had managed to deceive me.
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