Mother only found out daughter was being trafficked at daughter's wake

The mother of a young woman - whose daughter’s drug addiction led her into sex work - has described the man who trafficked her as a "monster".

Deborah Hanna spoke out as that man faces sentencing for a number of serious sex and drug crimes, not only against her daughter but other young women.

Derek Brown, aged 61 who is originally from Lisburn, is currently behind bars in Lisburn.

On Friday, at Craigavon Court he admitted a total of 13 charges – including a number of crimes against Deborah’s daughter Caitlin.

The others included controlling prostitution and brothel keeping.

Caitlin, who was just 21, was found dead in a house in Co Antrim in March 2022 from a drugs overdose.

That property – Brown’s home.

Deborah will never forget the 'death knock' on her door.

"I knew, when I looked out the bedroom window and saw the police ... walking down the stairs that night, I'll never, ever forget it," she said.

While Caitlin’s mum was aware of her daughter’s drug problem and did all she could to help her, she had no idea her daughter was in the sex trade and was being exploited.

She only found that out at her daughter’s wake.

"I had no clue whatsoever that all this was going on, and that was my own daughter, so if I didn't know that, then I'm sure a lot of people out there don't know," she said.

"I often sit and think about the vulnerable situations she would have been in, like going to them appointments and who she was meeting. That could have been anybody. To think she was being put in them situations just terrifies me."

There’s not a day Deborah doesn’t think about her eldest.

I asked as her – what she finds most difficult – she could barely hold back the tears.

"Having to carry on living," she said. "And trying to be the best person I can for my other children which on a daily basis is extremely hard, because every thought of every day is just around Caitlin."

To other vulnerable women out there, Deborah has this appeal.

"Speak out, and speak to somebody," she said. "Tell somebody if you're in a situation like Caitlin was in. There is help out there."

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