Celia G. (42) and David N. (20), a married couple, were accused of offering prostitution services out of their Ennis, Co. Clare address on 23 July 2016. The couple pleaded guilty to living on the earnings of prostitution. David N., a Spanish national, and his Brazlian wife, Celia G. pleaded guilty to the charge and claimed they did not know it was illegal to operate a brothel as it is “a cottage industry” in Spain. The court heard Gardaí discovered a laptop computer which showed the defendants were advertising prostitution services on the Escort Ireland website as “Anne and Peter” offering various services. It was estimated they were earning about €1,200 a week. The couple were said to have been co-operative with Gardaí. The judge asked if there were any third parties involved in this enterprise to which a Garda witness replied “They were managers and providers. This was a joint enterprise and it was advertised in that format and that a couple situation would apply. There were no third parties and no one was working for them”. The judge imposed a fine of €600 on each defendant and gave them three months to pay.
Source(s):
Clare Champion, 05-2018
