A man lured a Latvian teenager to Leicestershire with the promise of a job - but then forced her into prostitution, a court heard today.

Andrew Newton, of Shilton Road, Barwell, arranged for the 18-year-old to travel to the UK in 2010 and forced her to have sex with a succession of men at an address in the Hinckley area.

After she raised the alarm and turned to police for help, detectives established Newton had exploited a second Latvian national, also 18 at the time, in the same way.

The 53-year-old appeared at Leicester Crown Court last week to admit four counts of inciting and controlling prostitution for gain.

He appeared at the same court today and was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.

The first victim to come to police attention in 2016. She revealed to officers she was only 18-years-old when she first met Newton in 2010 after she answered a job advertisement offering work in the UK.

Releasing details of the case, Leicestershire Police said: "Newton met the teenager in Latvia and made arrangements for her to travel to England a month later.

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"He met her at East Midlands Airport and took her to a flat in Hinckley where he forced her to remove her clothes and took photos of her before making her sign a contract.

"Over a period of months, Newton arranged for men to come to the flat where the victim was expected to have sex with them.

"Feeling threatened by Newton, she was too afraid of his controlling behaviour to refuse.

"He gave her very little money which left her feeling trapped and dependent upon him."

The woman found the courage to contact police in 2016 and told officers what was happening to her.

The force added: "From inquiries carried out, officers identified a further victim who had also come to the UK from Latvia.

"This victim, who was also 18 years old when the offences occurred, told officers how she had met Newton, in Hinckley.

"He took her to an address where he had sex with her before coercing her into prostitution."

Detective Constable Jo Ranson , who led the inquiry, said: “This was a lengthy and complex investigation with a number of inquiries having to be made overseas.

"Newton took advantage of these women who answered a job advert, in good faith, believing they had a chance to earn a living in the UK.

“I really must commend the victims on their bravery in coming forward and reporting what happened to them, and for the way they have conducted themselves throughout all of our inquiries.

Generic prostitution/brothels (Picture posed by model)
The young women were forced by Newton to work in prostitution. (Picture posed by model)

“I hope today’s outcome will help the victims to come to terms with what they were subjected to and that they can finally begin to move forward with their lives.”

Previously, Leicestershire Police has said women forced into prostitution figure largely in the force's assessment of the scale of modern slavery in the city and county.

The force has asked members of the public to be on the look-out for people who are being exploited and forced to work in conditions akin to slavery in businesses such a nail bars and car washes or in factories, on building sites and in the growing number of so-called pop-up brothels.

The five characteristics of modern slavery it is asking LeicestershireLive readers to look out for are:

  • Victims may show signs of abuse and ill-treatment such as untreated injuries
  • A lack of personal possessions such as passports, other personal documents, phones or cash
  • They will appear always in the company of a chaperone, who they will perhaps be visibly frightened of or intimidated by
  • Some will appear malnourished, skinny and unkempt
  • They will work long hours without breaks or refreshment