Two charged for sex slavery of RI girls

Two charged for sex slavery of RI girls

AUSTRALIA: Australian police have charged two people with turning three Indonesian women into sex slaves as the government came under mounting pressure to stamp out an industry estimated to involve 1,000 women nationwide.

A court heard on Wednesday that the three were lured with the offer of jobs in bars or restaurants but then made to work as prostitutes. The charges were the first under Australian anti-sex slave laws introduced in 1998.

Australian Federal Police said a 47-year-old woman and a 29- year-old man from Sydney were arrested on Tuesday after police searched an apartment in the western suburb of Auburn.

They were charged with one count of sexual servitude, which carries a maximum 15 years jail, and three of recruiting for sexual servitude, which carries a nine-year prison term.

Brothel sources say sex slaves, or "contract girls", are most often Thai, Chinese, Filipino, Korean or Indonesian. Most are aged from 18 to their early 20s. Some are as young as 12. --Reuters