Mother and son convicted of running multiple brothels in Devon
A mother and son have been convicted of running brothels at flats in Exeter and Torquay.
The pair ran brothels in the areas of Pennsylvania, St James and Heavitree in Exeter, as well as Torquay town centre.
Women from Thailand and Eastern Europe were seen wearing matching dressing gowns and neighbours reported a continual stream of male visitors to the addresses.
It follows a two-year police operation that also investigated suspected people trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Edwina Kalay, 59, admitted to managing eight brothels, plus a joint offence of money laundering – relating to the transfer of more than £98,000 through her bank accounts – and an offence of possessing in excess of £3,000 worth of criminal property.
Kalay, using the name Edwina Christian-Stockwell, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court yesterday, March 8, to two years and eight months imprisonment for the management of the eight brothels, plus concurrent sentences of two years and four months.
She also received three months, respectively, for money laundering offences.
Kalay’s son, Richard Christian, 33, admitted to assisting in the management of five brothels in Exeter, plus a joint offence of money laundering – relating to the transfer of more than £17,000 through his bank account – and an offence of possessing criminal property.
He received a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for assisting in the management of five brothels, plus concurrent sentences of nine months, and one month, respectively, for the money laundering offences.
All are suspended for two years. In addition, he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Kalay’s husband, Michael Stockwell, 70, admitted to a joint offence of money laundering – relating to the transfer of more than £16,000 through his bank accounts – directly linked to the money received from the brothels. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
A hearing will take place later this year for the confiscation of assets from the defendants. They all entered guilty pleas to money laundering offences which totalled more than £120,000.
Detective Inspector Mike Jones, Senior Investigating Officer, said: “The investigation began as a people trafficking and sexual exploitation case and this remained at the forefront of our decision-making throughout.
“Along with partner organisations, we are able to offer a wide range of assistance where an individual is identified as being trafficked, exploited or coerced and we would ask the public to be vigilant and report any concerns where such activities are suspected”
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