Sex workers ‘on call 24 hours a day’ at St Julian’s brothel, court hears

Sex workers at a St Julian's brothel were expected to be available 24 hours a day. They could be woken up at any time if a client turned up, they had to leave their room if a roommate got a client, and they were expected to parade, at any time of day, if a client so wanted, a court was told on Tuesday.

The working conditions were described by a police inspector as criminal proceedings resumed against three women – 31-year-old Panamanian cleaner Janice Jasbeth Ramirez Cummings, 28-year-old Colombian cleaner Karen Dayanna Pineda Caicedo, and  31-year-old Colombia cleaner supervisor Silvia Juliana Jinete Vega.

They are accused of trafficking other women into prostitution, living off the proceeds of prostitution, operating a brothel and money laundering, among other charges. They deny the charges.

Inspector Marshal Mallia said that during a search of the property they believed to be a brothel, the police found 10 South Americans and three clients. Among them were three women who had allegedly been trafficked. They were in separate rooms with clients, while other alleged victims and two of the accused waited in the kitchen and living area.

The search was conducted on December 13 after monitoring which started in October. 

Pineda Caicedo opened the door when the police called. Ramirez Cummings was found in the kitchen area waiting with other women who later turned out to be alleged victims. The premises had three bedrooms which had a woman and a client in each, with the police entering in mid-act.

Pineda Caicedo and Ramirez Cummings were fully clothed, while the rest, who turned out to be the alleged victims, were scantily dressed “for the job”.

The police seized receipts and over €11,000 in cash from Ramirez Cummings's residence. During her interrogation, she said she operated the brothel and managed the money.

Pineda Caicedo told the police that she was the assistant manager and had been interviewed by Ramirez Cummings for the job. She worked on a roster basis with the other "mummies" - as all three accused were called - and her role was to take care of the premises and explain the rules to the women who worked as sex workers and manage the bookings.

Their earnings were placed in an envelope and given to the “mummies”.

The mummies not only explained the rules to the women but also enforced them.

From the inspector’s testimony, it emerged that the alleged victims were aware they would work as prostitutes in Malta but were under the impression they would operate differently.  

The women were expected to be available 24 hours a day. If they were asleep and a client requested a sexual service, they would be woken up and told to work. If their roommate got a client, they were expected to leave the room. There were instances when a client would request a parade, and all women – even if they had been asleep - were expected to take part until the client chose the sex worker.

The mummies also allegedly ran the women's pages on online escort sites.

The inspector said that the alleged victims were allowed to leave the house for up to three hours a day. Failure to return within those hours meant that they would be fined €200. In some cases, they were not allowed to leave, to ensure that there were enough women to serve clients.

They were paid once a week. Details were logged meticulously.

The alleged victims also had outcalls, with the mummies booking them a taxi. They were only given additional details while they were on the way to meet the client.

Mallia said the police found several shelves with condoms assorted by size. The premises had indoor cameras which only showed a live view.

Officers also found a substantial amount of lube and 13g tusi – pink cocaine – and 5g cannabis grass.

Pineda Caicedo told the police that the cash flow of the premises was kept in the kitchen and told the officers where they could find it. The officers found invoices, envelopes and more than €4,000 in cash.

During the sitting, inspector Mallia presented the passports of the alleged victims, several evidence bags filled with a substantial amount of lubes, different sizes of condoms, female condoms, a sex toy, drugs, documents, lease agreements, money, and the boxes of the CCTV cameras inside the premises.

Under cross-examination, Mallia confirmed that some of the women worked as sex workers back in their home country and that all the women were adults. Asked whether the alleged victims could refuse clients, Mallia said that some of the women had not been in Malta long enough to be in that situation, while others felt they could not refuse due to the rules in place.

Defence lawyer Charles Mercieca pointed out that the women could leave for three hours every day, they had a mobile phone and presumably internet on their phone, as well as their passports and money, suggesting that his client Pineda Caicedo did not withhold the alleged victims’ passports.

The inspector confirmed that Pineda Caicedo had returned from Colombia some days before her arrest but had been in Malta before.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech presided.

AG lawyers Charmaine Abdilla and Etienne Savona prosecuted, assisted by police inspectors John Spiteri, Dorianne Tabone and Marshal Mallia.

Lawyer Charles Mercieca appeared for Pineda Caicedo while lawyers Silvan Pulis and Herman Mula appeared for the remaining two co-accused. Lawyer Stephanie Caruana appeared as parte civile.