A 45-year-old woman caught acting as a sex worker without a licence said she was only cooking clients dinner at her Bendigo business.
Di Hu, a Chinese citizen who moved to Australia in 2008, was arrested in January and charged with operating an illegal brothel in Galvin Street, in Bendigo’s CBD.
She pleaded guilty to knowingly carrying on business as a sex worker without a licence but claimed she had only used the property to cook dinner for her clients and had not acted as an escort at the premises.
Detectives raided the Galvin Street address on August 7 last year and arrested another Chinese citizen, 55-year-old Hui Liu, who was working at the business as a masseuse and escort.
In a previous court appearance, Liu said she had only worked as a sex worker in Bendigo for one day and was given a $500 fine without conviction.
Nikki will this year celebrate — quite literally, since she loves her job — her 17th year as a sex worker (it's a term she and all the women in this story prefer, since "prostitute" has negative connotations).
Nikki is out and proud about her profession. Her whole family knows what she does. She's been taking money for sex since she was 23 years old. She's now 42 and she has no plans to retire any time soon.
"I used to own a hairdressing salon," Nikki says. "I wasn't making much money. I was doing tax returns to make extra. Then I got engaged and I was going to get married, but the guy I was engaged to had never had sex before. I was worried he might stray after we got married, so I sent him to see a local sex worker."
It worked out pretty well. One might say it worked out far too well because, the next thing Nikki knew, her fiancé was dating that sex worker on the side. Nikki marched down to the brothel and demanded to see the manager.
"She was as outraged as I was," Nikki says. "It's absolutely unprofessional! But anyway, we got talking and I really liked this woman — she was strong and confident, independent and really good fun."
Steve Constantinou is accused of murdering Johanna Martin, also known as Jazzy O, on October 11 and stealing $33,000 worth of jewellery from her.
Mr Constantinou had been facing charges of theft, alongside a murder charge, but a Supreme Court directions hearing into the matter today heard the theft charges would not be pursued.
He has denied any involvement in Ms Martin’s death.
Crown Prosecutor Mark Rochford, SC, told the court he expected the trial to last about three weeks.
Theo Kassimatis, for Mr Constantinou, told the court there were no significant pre-trial issues to deal with.
A KOREAN sex worker stole $50,000 in cash from her brothel manager before fleeing exploitation, a court has heard.
The woman, 21, had lived with her female manager and worked at the brothel at 39 Tope Street, South Melbourne, prosecutor Senior Constable Rachael Noon told the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The accused, who buried her face and cried in the dock, had told police she worked from 10am to 1am, seven days a week after arriving in August on a working holiday visa. She said she did not feel she could refuse to work, even if she was sick.
Senior Constable Noon said the woman took $50,000 cash hidden in her manager's make-up boxes and shoeboxes, took her own belongings, and left the city apartment where she and the manager were living.
The woman, who relied on an interpreter in court, was arrested five days later on December 28 after trying to wire money back to Korea at a Korean grocery. She was recognised and reported to her manager who called police.
A DIVORCED father of two who took a trip to Gotham City turned villain after bashing and slashing an escort worker with a samurai sword during a drug bender at his Elwood home, the County Court has heard.
Andrea Montiroli met the sex worker at the Gotham City brothel after a friend suggested he needed some female company. After dropping his two children off at school later that morning, he returned home to find the woman dressed in a black French maids outfit and wearing a black wig at his front door.
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