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Five Israelis charged with running sex ring
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NIS 400 for 40 minutes: 5 Israelis charged with running prostitution ring

The young couple at the helm of the illegal business rented at least 20 apartments across the cities of Ashdod and Bat Yam where they employed women, predominantly from Russia and Ukraine, some of whom had been tricked into leaving their home-country and coming to Israel

An Israeli couple and three other people are accused of running a prostitution ring consisting of women from former Soviet countries, according to an indictment filed against them on Sunday.

 

 

Michael Rezec, 31, was allegedly responsible for providing the women with apartments where they would meet with clients. His wife Eugenia and her acquaintance, Olga Prishchapov, were in charge of directing the calls from the clientele to the women they employed. All three are the residents of the southern city of Ashdod.

 

The couple operated the illegal business across the cities of Ashdod and Bat Yam - both with a large Russian-speaking population - from 2015 until sometime this year. The indictment was filed after several women, who had been brought into Israel by the couple from Russia and Ukraine, complained to the police.


 (Photo: Shutterstock)
(Photo: Shutterstock)

 

According to the indictment, which was filed by the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office details the manner in which the ring was operated. It said Rezec rented at least 20 apartments, instructed the women about the terms of their employment, was responsible for collecting the owners’ share of the money and supplied the prostitutes with the needed equipment.

 

The indictment states the sex workers charged NIS 400 ($110) for 40 minutes of services or NIS 500 ($138) for a full hour. In addition, the women were requested to pose suggestively in their underwear for pictures that were used in order to advertise the business on various websites.

 

In addition, Rezec is accused of convincing at least six women to leave their home-country by offering them employment as high-paying sex workers in Israel and a place where they can live during their stay.

 

After the women agreed to travel to Israel, the 31-year-old instructed them on how to behave during airport checks in order not to alert suspicion of Israeli security.

 

Michael Perry, 31, from the central city of Kfar Saba, is the fourth person named in the indictment. He was responsible, among other things, for taking care of the women immediately after their arrival in the country and integrating them into the existing brothels.

 

The fifth defendant in the case is 32-year-old Grigory Sokolov, also from Ashdod, who's accused of threatening a real-estate agent who rented the apartments to the Rezec couple between the years of 2016 and 2019.

 

Sokolov along with Rezec tried to coerce the real estate agent into giving a false police testimony and to retract some of the statements he made during an interrogation. The two apparently told the agent that “he will not survive” if he refuses to comply with their demands.

 

The couple has also been charged with tax offenses for failing to report some NIS 4,4 million in income to the tax authorities during their time running the illegal ring.

 

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit crime, pimping and pandering, advertising sex services, coercing individuals into prostitution, coercing individuals to leave their home-country for purposes of prostitution, giving false testimony, drug and tax offenses.  

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.23.19, 19:55
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