SPAIN’S National Police force has arrested a couple on suspicion of sexually exploiting more than 120 women in the Alicante municipalities of Elche and Novelda. The pair are thought to have created a business network of modelling agencies and film production companies in order to ensnare their victims.
The investigation began when one of the victims told the police that she had been sexually exploited for more than five years and had also been subjected to sexual assaults. She had not previously reported her ordeal ‘for fear of reprisals’, according to the National Police.
Officers discovered that the couple would promise their victims a successful career in the world of modelling or cinema, and would even create a portfolio of photos for the women in question. But once they had been groomed they were forced into a life of prostitution.
The victims are alleged to have been coerced to offer sexual service for many hours a day, even when they were ill. They were also obliged to wear geolocation devices so that they could be available at all times.
If they refused to offer sexual services they would be ‘threatened, punished with fines or would directly lose any economic income’.
The suspects are being held in prison, and the authorities are not ruling out finding more victims.
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