Brothels. Two private buildings located in Amiens, in the Somme, were seized as part of legal proceedings for hotel pimping. Two women, the manager and the owner of the property, were arrested and indicted, we learned from the Amiens prosecutor’s office. They are suspected of having rented these buildings via platforms to house prostitution activities.
That rentals between individuals are used without the knowledge of the owners by prostitutes or to shoot pornographic films has become relatively common. But the case that interests us here is of another magnitude. It all started after several complaints were filed to denounce what appeared to be prostitution activities in a building in Amiens.
A very heavy sentence and sanctions
The case was taken seriously and the public prosecutor of Amiens opened an investigation. The police investigations not only confirmed the neighbors’ allegations, but also discovered that the same carousel was taking place in another building. The investigators were able to identify two women, the owner of the property and the manager. They also noticed that the prostitutes who worked in the buildings paid for their rental via the Booking and Airbnb platforms.
The two suspects were eventually arrested and taken into custody. “The owners of the goods are not the organizers of the activity since it is not a pimping network”, specified the prosecutor to 20 minutes. On the other hand, they are suspected of “hotel pimping”, in other words, of having knowingly rented their property to prostitutes so that they can exercise their activity there.
“Selling or making available to one or more persons premises or places not used by the public, knowing that they will engage in prostitution there” is an offense punishable by ten years’ imprisonment and 750,000 euro fine. The two buildings were also seized “under the instrument of the offense”. During their trial, which is to be held on November 17, the court may order the final confiscation of the property, the value of which is estimated at nearly 500,000 euros.