Ferenc R., arrested in mid-February 2022, forced the victim into prostitution in one of his brothels in Vienna between 2014 and 2020.
According to the data of the investigation, Ferenc R., a resident of Ilk, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county transported a vulnerable woman living in poor conditions to Vienna in September 2014. Under their original agreement, the victim would have been obliged to hand over half of their daily income of approx. € 300-400 to the pimp who, however, took the entire money and spent it on his own livelihood. If defied, the woman was badly beaten and normally was expected to work seven days a week until the closure of the Austrian brothels in March 2020 due to COVID-19.
When Ferenc R. was apprehended on the morning of 16 February at his residence in the town of Vásárosnamény, five other women were present in the property, four of whom could be identified as further victims of the case. The trafficker was also calculating in that he also made them sign statements “certifying” the voluntary nature of prostitution. Besides, the investigators seized written records, valuables, and large sums of cash associated with the crime on the site.
Ferenc R. was taken into custody by the National Bureau of Investigation, and the court then ordered his arrest for 30 days. In this qualified case, the felony of trafficking in human beings is punishable – according to the Criminal Code at the time of the perpetration – by imprisonment for a term of 2 to 8 years.
As the investigation progresses, more victims and perpetrators may be detected by the Police.
Press release of the Police and the related capture video is available here: http://www.police.hu/hu/hirek-es-informaciok/legfrissebb-hireink/bunugyek/becsi-bordelyhazban-futtatta-aldozatat