Hungarian gang who ran brothel in Sussex halls caged in sex slavery sting
Infamous sex gang who used a Park Village flat as a brothel finally sentenced
A vile gang who ran a brothel in a Sussex hall of residence have been caged for a total of 25 years.
Three Hungarian criminals and a British woman trafficked sex slaves from Eastern Europe and sold them to punters in a family flat in Park Village.
The gangsters were led by Mate Puskas, branded by the Judge as “at the centre of the conspiracy”, his “loyal lieutenant” and now ex-girlfriend Victoria Brown, brothers Istvan and Peter Toth, and Zoltan Mohacsi. The Toth brothers both received an extra nine months on their sentences after attempting to break bail.
The whore house was spotted by Park Village building manager Martin West when he recognised Sussex uni accommodation in an email advertising escorts.Police swooped soon after, and closed the vice den.
The gang ran an expansive network of brothels across the UK, trafficking over 50 women into the country over a period of more than two years with locations spanning from Glasgow to Kent to East Sussex.
Judge Richard Hayward described the acts of the gang as ‘repugnant’, the gang trafficked girls who were barely of age, forcing them to work long hours by threatening the girls and their families.
Girls were unable to choose their clients or hours of work, but rather advertised online against their knowledge and assigned clients by members of the gang. The women involved had up to a huge 90 percent of their earnings taken by the gang.
Tragically, many of these girls were just desperately trying to escape from financial difficulties in their home country. Security Minister James Brokenshire described the way these women were manipulated and used by the gang as ‘an appalling case.’
The women involved are currently in the process of being safely returned to Hungary. Once released from jail, members of the gang will be deported.
A University of Sussex spokeswoman said: “This was a one-off incident, involving people not connected in any way to the university. We continue to maintain high levels of vigilance to ensure that the residences are not misused and that our students are able to enjoy living in a very safe and secure environment”.