Convicted Athlone brothel operators receive jail terms

Two people who operated a brothel in Athlone were last week jailed for linked offences at a court in Wales. 48-year-old Carlow man Thomas Joseph Carroll was sentenced to seven years in jail for controlling prostitution and money laundering. Carroll who had been living in a rented house in Castlemartin in Wales was arrested following an investigation into an international prostitution network. His South African partner Shamiela Clark, 32, also admitted running the complex and organised business in Ireland and was jailed for three and a half years. The couple operated more than 35 brothels north and south of the border, including one in Athlone. A third person, daughter Toma Carroll, 26, was also imprisoned for two years for her part in laundering the profits, which in one year amounted to more than €1m. Carroll and his South African partner, Shameila Clark, were arrested in Galway in 2006 and admitted making hundreds of thousands of euro from running brothels all over Ireland. On 3 December 2008, gardaí, the PSNI and the UK's Serious Organised Crime Squad carried out a series of raids in Britain and Ireland as part of the investigation. Gardaí searched 19 brothels that day in Athlone, Cavan, Drogheda, Mullingar, Sligo, Kilkenny, Enniscorthy, Newbridge and Waterford - ten people were arrested. The court was told that Toma collected cash from brothels and put over €1,750,000 through her account between 2005 and 2008, which was then transferred to her father's account. Mr Carroll and Ms Clark pleaded guilty to controlling prostitution and money laundering, while Toma Carroll pleaded guilty to money laundering. Gardaí have been involved in the Welsh court case and have taken a number of statements from women who worked for the accused in up to 15 brothels around the Midlands, including one in Athlone. Accounts kept by Clark, showed that one prostitute made almost €7,000 from three days' work in Athlone, according to a report in the Sunday World. The case highlighted the despicable abuse of women and children in the Irish sex trade, according to Ruhama, the charity that supports women affected by trafficking and prostitution. "Many people will be shocked and even find it hard to comprehend that in their town or street women were literally enslaved in apartments," said Gerardine Rowley PRO, Ruhama. "The exploitation carried out against these vulnerable victims was severe; they were lured to Ireland with the promise of a better life but found themselves entrapped. Regrettably the full story of what has been inflicted on these women and many others did not emerge in the courts." Ruhama assisted and provided services to all of the women in this case. There were six women in total, two of them were minors aged 15 and 17 when the abuse occurred. She praised the victims' bravery in reporting the crime. "They have not only sought justice for themselves and taken some criminals out of the arena but they have also helped to stop the abuse happening to other women," she said. "Our challenge now is to continue assisting these victims in their recovery and integration. We hope compassion will be afforded to these women by the Irish state and that they will be allowed full protection and residency." Ruhama congratulated the Gardaí, PSNI and UK police for their diligent work in successfully getting this case before the courts. "We believe that most Irish people do not want a society where vulnerable women and children end up enslaved in the sex trade. A greater public awareness campaign is needed and men who use the sex trade for their gratification need to realize they are involved in something criminal and abusive." Ruhama warned that this was not an isolated case and that a clear policing strategy which will pro-actively halt these criminal gangs is needed.