Clause 51 - Controlling a child prostitute or
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Ms Sandra Gidley (Romsey, Liberal Democrat)
The amendments are intended to probe clause 51 and other relevant clauses to find out whether they might be strengthened by changing the words ''intentionally controlling'' to ''intentionally or knowingly controlling''. I admit to having tabled the amendments after reading the Metropolitan police's comment that prostitution and pornography were big businesses and that, although the police had no problem in prosecuting the small guys, often, at the bigger business end of the market, particularly in prostitution, there was a human firewall between the pimp and the enterprise.
Under current legislation, the police are asked to prove three things. First, they must prove that prostitution, or the activity in question, is taking place, which is generally relatively easy to prove.
Secondly, they must prove that the principal knew about it. Thirdly, they need to prove that that person gained financially. The latter is also relatively easy to prove, with a bit of work. However, the depth of the investigation almost invariably focuses on the second point—knowledge of what was going on. The police think that at the moment, as the law stands, they have a fighting chance of proving what is going on, but they are aware of various investigations in which they would have had great difficulty proving a case using the words ''intentionally controlling'', as is proposed in the Bill.
The police cite a number of loopholes. For example, Operation Rapel described John Murray-Smith as probably the biggest brothel owner in London. He never went near the industry and took no part in running or organising things. His bank account showed that he was gaining financially, so it was relatively easy to prove that he was involved in prostitution. However, proving that he had knowledge of what was going on was protracted work for the police, requiring several months of covert operations. It was eventually established that he must have known about what was taking place over the many months during which he was investigated. The police maintain, however, that it would have been impossible to prove that he was intentionally controlling prostitution, because he set up the system to ensure that he was far removed from the business end.
There are other possible loopholes, such as the pimp who drops his girl off in a red-light district and waits at home for her to bring back the money. He may say, ''Yes, I knew she was working as a prostitute and giving me money, but she wanted to do it. It is not my intention that she did it.'' A brothel owner who advertises his premises for massage and takes a huge percentage of the earnings—