Dad may be deported for earning from prostitution

AFATHER-OF-FOUR made thousands of pounds travelling the UK arranging sexual services for a prostitute.

Gheorghita Stanica placed adverts on a website then toured the country, booking hotels, driving the woman to jobs and pocketing large sums of cash.

The pair were arrested on their way to a late-night rendezvous in Torquay. Over a three-month period about £10,000 in cash and bank transfers had been made.

Stanica, 33, admitted controlling prostitution for gain and was due to be sentenced at Exeter Crown Court. But the sentence was adjourned to get more information about whether he should be deported back to his native Romania.

Stanica said he got involved so he could provide for his children back in his native land. He earned better money acting for the woman than chopping wood back home or working in a car wash in this country. He said he did not force the woman to be a prostitute and she shared in his profits.

Prosecutor Mr Brian Fitzherbert said police started to monitor the movements of a Mercedes car registered to Stanica in May. They followed the vehicle to a petrol station in Torquay.

Stanica was driving while a woman was in the passenger seat. A baseball bat and two knives were also found in the vehicle. Messages on his phone revealed he regularly arranged to drive his sex worker passenger to addresses across the UK. The standard rate for her services was £150.

The pair were on their way to Orchard Road in Torquay at the time of their arrest. It turned out they had driven from Scotland having made previous similar arrangements in Oxford, Carlisle, Penrith, Glasgow and Edinburgh ‘offering prostitution as they went’, said the prosecutor.

Analysis of his bank account showed money being transferred into the woman’s account and then straight into his. Shortly before his arrest Stanica advertised the woman’s prostitution services for Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter on the Vivastreet website and received an enthusiastic response.

“The prosecution say Stanica controlled the woman’s prostitution with the expectation of significant financial gain for himself,” said Mr Fitzherbert. He has a previous conviction for prostitution offences in Romania.

Miss Emily Cook, defending, said job prospects were not good in Romania. He had worked as a cleaner in England. She said the woman had made her own choice to work as a prostitute and that is not illegal.

Stanica, of Palace Road, London, has been in custody since his arrest but feels isolated due to his limited English, said Miss Cook. He was not leading a lavish lifestyle at the time. Judge Anna Richardson adjourned sentence until November 30 to allow consideration of whether to recommend a deportation order.

‘Stanica controlled the woman’s prostitution with the expectation of significant financial gain’ BRIAN FITZHERBERT