A French court has sentenced
24 members of a Lyon-based sex trafficking ring to prison terms of up to seven
years for forcing Nigerian women into prostitution.
Nearly all of the
defendants were themselves Nigerian, in the latest case to highlight the growing
use of African migrants in the European sex trade.
They include one of
Europe’s most wanted women, Jessica Edosomwan, accused of acting as a
France-based “madam” to women recruited mainly in Nigeria’s southern
Edo State.
Edosomwan was tried in
absentia.
Seventeen women filed
complaints against the defendants but none of the victims attended the trial,
with the exception of one former sex worker who found herself in the dock for
luring another woman into the trade.
The accused had faced
up to 10 years’ imprisonment on charges including human trafficking, pimping,
money laundering and helping people live illegally in France.
Prosecutors estimated
that the victims, aged 17 to 38, made up to $166 000 a month for the syndicate
by selling sex in vans parked by the side of the road for as little as 10
euros.
A French mechanic who
looked after the vans was among the 24 defendants.
Similar gangs have
also been dismantled in Italy and Britain.
Most of the women come
from Nigeria’s Benin City, a human trafficking hotbed.
Many told
investigators they had taken part in “juju” or black magic rituals
before leaving Nigeria, during which they had to promise to repay the money for
their passage to Europe.
