Brit pimp jailed for 21 YEARS in Thailand for running notorious sex bar where he trafficked girl, 16, into prostitution
William Reece Bilton, 33, was the manager of a night spot in
5
William Reece Bilton, manager of Flirt bar in Pattaya, Thailand, has been jailed for 21 years
Credit: Andrew Drummond
5
Pattaya is notorious as a hotspot for seedy clubs and sex tourism
Credit: Getty
5
Police have for years tried to crack down on the sex-work industry in Pattaya
Credit: Getty
It was
Local
police
chief Thanapong Phothi said at the time: 'We made the arrest to build confidence in Pattaya's image among tourists.'
Reece, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, has now been jailed for a total of 21 years and six months for a string of offences including putting a 16-year-old girl into prostitution.
He was also fined 30,000 Thai baht (£681) for breaking Thailand's labour laws and advertising the teenager on the bar's Facebook page.
read more in world news
Reece had been caught on video providing the price for potential customers to spend time with the teenage girl, Bangkok Criminal
Court
heard.
Two Thai men who helped run the bar were also
She was found guilty of running an
There are strict laws against prostitution in Thailand but they are widely ignored, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Pattaya, dubbed Sin City.
Most read in The Sun
Researchers reckon there could be around 200,000
sex
workers sex workers across the country with prostitution contributing $6.4bn to Thailand's
GDP
.
There have been repeated attempts by the authorities to crack down on prostitution.
Shocking moment Brit tourists in Thai 'Sin City' fight locals in road rage brawl
In May police and immigration officers desperate to improve the image of Pattaya arrested 13 nationals from Uzbekistan and Uganda who were working as prostitutes.
Officials said they would be deported.
It comes as a British couple were
Sian Warren, 34, and Daniel McDonald, 36, were stopped when they returned to Heathrow.
5
Bar girls try to attract customers from the street in Pattaya
Credit: Getty
5
Pattaya is incredibly popular amongst tourists
Credit: Alamy
National
Crime
Agency officers found four cases packed with more than
The pair were charged with importing Class B
drugs
and appeared the following day at Uxbridge magistrates' court.
They have been bailed under curfew ahead of a plea hearing on June 26 at Isleworth crown court.
The couple left Salford for a dream holiday to Bangkok last month.
Sian works as an administrator for Daniel's dad's building
business
.
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