VIP client: a police officer visited an apartment with prostitutes three times to document the crime

At the Prymorsky District Court of the city of Odesa a verdict was handed down against a woman who was found guilty of pimping, repeated pimping and establishing a place of debauchery. The peculiarity of this case is that the scheme was documented through a series of controlled visits by an undercover law enforcement officer, who returned several times to the same apartment to collect evidence.

According to court materials, as early as the beginning of 2024 the woman posted an ad on OLX for a “high-paying job”. In fact, it concealed an offer to provide sexual services for money. After phone conversations, women were invited to interviews at the rented apartment. There the true working conditions and the scheme for distributing earnings were explained.

The investigation established that an hour of services cost 3,000 hryvnias. Half of the amount — 1,500 hryvnias — went to the woman providing the services, while the other 1,500 hryvnias was taken by the organizer.

However, the most unusual detail of the case were the special investigative experiments. The undercover officer found the advertisement, called the number, arranged a meeting and went to the apartment. After handing over the money he was shown to a room where women were already waiting for him. It was in this way that law enforcement officers documented the operation of the scheme.

There were several such visits. According to the verdict, they took place on 21 February, 27 February and 15 March 2024. In fact the same operative returned to the apartment three times to record the operation of the illegal business. These episodes formed the core of the evidentiary base in the case.

At the same time the investigation established that the organizer not only sought out women and clients. She also rented the apartment, paid utilities, kept the premises in proper condition, controlled the availability of contraceptives and coordinated meetings. In fact the apartment functioned as a separate mechanism with a division of duties and income.

During searches law enforcement officers seized mobile phones, bank cards, rough notes, a television and 16,090 hryvnias in cash. The court ordered part of the property to be confiscated.

In court the woman fully admitted her guilt. She confirmed that she had indeed recruited women, rented the apartment and organized the meetings. She also asked not to be punished harshly, citing sincere remorse and having two minor children.

The court sentenced her to 4 years imprisonment, but applied a probation period of 3 years. Thus she avoided actual incarceration.

Earlier we wrote:

• “Saunas Undercover”: in Mykolaiv a woman is suspected of pimping — court ordered pretrial detention and bail
• “Operation Love”: an undercover agent had sex with a prostitute and documented everything
• Police repeatedly “used the services” of prostitutes in Kyiv: investigative experiment or absurdity?
• A draft bill on the decriminalization of pornography was registered in the Verkhovna Rada
• In a Mykolaiv bathhouse a brothel with a monthly turnover of one million was organized