Two grey pebble-dashed terraced houses 'used as brothels' in Welsh city

Wales Online

14 hours ago

Two grey pebble-dashed terraced houses 'used as brothels' in Welsh city
A man accused of having a 'hands-on' role running two brothels in Swansea has gone on trial
The defendant is alleged to have run brothels at 48 Norfolk Street (left) and 2 Francis Street in Swansea
A man has gone on trial accused of having a "hands-on" role running brothels in houses in a Welsh city. Crisit-denis Miclescu is said to have facilitated the use of two terraced properties in Swansea for the purposes of prostitution.
Miclescu did not attend the opening of his trial at Swansea Crown Court, and following legal submission from prosecution and defence barristers the case began in his absence. The 24-year-old year old has previously denied the allegations.
‌
Craig Jones, opening the case for the prosecuting, told the jury that the case involved two properties in Swansea, namely 48 Norfolk Street in the Mount Pleasant area of the city and 2 Francis Street near Victoria Park and St Helen's, both of which were rented by the defendant at the relevant time.
‌
He said police first attended the Norfolk Street property on October 28, 2022, and found three Romanian females sat in the living room. Phones were seized and the prosecutor said an examination of the devices showed messages which "clearly advertised the provision of sexual services on a paid for basis". For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter
The prosecutor said police attended at the Francis Street house on March 21, 2023, and found five women at the address along with the defendant. No search was carried out on that occasion.
He said officers attended the property again on April 4 and again found five females - four of whom had not been present at the previous visit - and the defendant. The court heard Miclescu tried to flee over the back garden fence but was detained. Again phones were seized.
Article continues below
The barrister told the jury they would hear evidence of a financial investigation into the defendant's six bank accounts which showed that between November 2021 and April 2023 some £150,000 was credited to his accounts while the investigator who went though the transactions could find no signs of any salary or wage-type payments.
He also said the investigator also found payments totalling £9,940 from the accounts to a website which hosted, among other things, adverts for adult services.
Mr Jones told the jurors that they would also hear evidence of the purchase of bulk quantities of condoms from the defendant's Amazon account, and hear details of messages recovered from the seized phones where sexual services were discussed and during which the postcodes of the two properties were sent out to contacts "many hundreds of times".
‌
The barrister said following his arrest Miclescu gave officers prepared statements in which he denied any knowledge of the properties being involved in prostitution and denied exerting any control over what was going on.
Mr Jones said it was the prosecution case that the defendant was "controlling, assisting and facilitating the operation of these two addresses as brothels" and had a "hands on" role in the operation.
The first evidence put before the jury was from South Wales Police constable Neil Lofthouse who is the officer in the case.
Article continues below
The officer took the jury through a number of text conversations recovered from phones seized from the two properties during which sex acts and prices were discussed.
The court heard many of the conversations ended with a post code for one of the properties - sometimes accompanied by directions and the colour of the front door - being sent to the contacts.
Crisit-denis Miclescu, of Jones Terrace, Mount Pleasant, Swansea, denies two counts of keeping a brothel, and the trial continues.