High Court Confirms Lengthy Jail Term for a Melbourne Brothel Keeper ‘Owning’ Thai Slaves

Gleeson CJ outlined the basic facts:

Following a trial in the County Court of Victoria, before Judge..  & a jury, the respondent was convicted of 5 offences of intentionally possessing a slave, and 5 offences of intentionally exercising over a slave a power attaching to the right of ownership, namely the power to use, contrary to s 270.3(1)(a) of the Criminal Code (Cth) (“the Code”). She was sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment.

Gleeson CJ continued (para’s 6 & 7):

The respondent was the owner of a licensed brothel at 417 Brunswick St, Fitzroy known as Club 417. The 10 counts in the indictment contained 2 charges (possessing and using) under s 270.3(1)(a) in relation to each of five women… The women were Thai nationals. They all came to Australia to work as prostitutes. They had all previously worked in what was described as the sex industry. They became “contract workers”. There was no written contract, but there were agreed conditions. Each complainant came to Australia voluntarily.

In an appeal to the Court of Appeal of Victoria by a woman, DS, who originally had been a co-accused of the respondent, Chernov JA described the practice that was followed..:

“The organisers in Australia arranged for an appropriate visa to be issued to a [complainant], no doubt on the basis of false information being provided to the immigration authorities. Sometimes that required funds to be deposited temporarily in a bank account in the name of the [complainant] in order to ensure that her visa could be obtained. The woman was then flown to Sydney from Bangkok, ‘escorted’ by one or two people, usually an elderly couple (so as not to arouse suspicion as to the [complainant’s] real purpose in coming to Australia). Generally, once the [complainant] arrived here she was treated as being ‘owned’ by those who had procured her passage. The [complainant] would be met at the airport by a representative of the Australian ‘owner’, who would pay off the ‘escorts’ and take the [complainant] to an apartment or hotel in Sydney and keep her there until a decision was made as to the brothel at which she was to work.”

Gleeson CJ continued (para’s 15 – 18):

The trial judge said in his sentencing remarks that he was satisfied on the evidence that the complainants were financially deprived and vulnerable upon arriving in Australia. He found that the complainants entered Australia on visas that were obtained illegally. Continued receipt of the benefits of the complainants’ contracts depended on their not being apprehended by immigration authorities. The benefits were more certain to be obtained when the complainants were kept hidden.

While on contract, the complainants’ passports and return airfares were retained by the respondent. This was done so that the passports could be produced to immigration authorities if necessary, and also so that the complainants could not run away. The complainants lived in premises arranged by the respondent, where they were lodged and fed, and their medical requirements attended to. The evidence was that the complainants were well-provisioned, fed, and provided for. The complainants were not kept under lock and key. Nevertheless, the trial judge said that, in the totality of the circumstances, the complainants were effectively restricted to the premises. On rare occasions they ventured out with consent or under supervision. The circumstances to which the trial judge referred included the hours of work involved, as well as control by way of fear of detection from immigration authorities, fear of visa offences, advice to be aware of immigration authorities, advice to tell false stories to immigration authorities if apprehended, and instructions not to leave their accommodation without the respondent, DS or the manager of the brothel. In the case of some of the contract workers, the regime became more relaxed as the contract progressed and, towards the end of their contracts, they were at liberty to go out as they wished. At work, the trial judge found that, while they were occasionally permitted to go out to shop, the complainants were, because of the nature and hours of their work, effectively restricted to the premises.

In the case of the two complainants who ultimately paid off their debts, the restrictions that had been placed on them were then lifted, their passports were returned, and they were free to choose their hours of work, and their accommodation.

In addition to the restrictions that were placed on the complainants, the prosecution pointed to the demands placed upon them as to the numbers of clients they were required to service, their lack of payment, and the days and hours they were required to work as demonstrating that their situation differed materially from that of other sex workers who, however exploited they may have been, were not slaves. The Court of Appeal accepted that the evidence was capable of supporting the jury verdicts, which were held not to have been unreasonable.