2 men suspected of forcing girls into prostitution

Young Russian women were allegedly forced to work for free to pay off debt for being brought into Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Prostitute 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
Prostitute 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
Two men were indicted Sunday on suspicion of bringing young Russian women into Israel to work as prostitutes. The men, from Or Yehuda and Bnei Brak respectively, allegedly brought the women into the country via Egypt, after they were sent by a contact in Russia. Once in Israel, the girls were apparently housed in an apartment with other girls, and recruited as prostitutes. They were allegedly told that they initially had to work for free, since they had to first work off the debt they owed to their employers for bringing them into Israel. According to the charge sheet, the girls were forced to work as prostitutes daily and were given only one day off a month. The girls were forbidden from leaving the apartment, apart from on exceptional occasions when they were allowed out accompanied by one of the senior employees. On one occasion, the charge sheet read, one of the girls tried to run away but was caught by one of the suspects. The man held her captive in his office for three days and drugged her with the drug Ecstasy, claiming it would calm her down.