Full Acquittal in Complex Multi-Handed Prostitution Case
Chaynee Hodgetts, instructed by Patrick O’Hanlon and Goran Stojsavljevic of Berkeley Square Solicitors, acted as Defence Junior on these complex multi-handed charges, where 8 Defendants faced charges of human trafficking of sex workers, conspiracy to control prostitution for gain, and money laundering of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The case concerned an established escort agency in London (run by a related Co-Defendant and former sex worker). Operation Vansfare (the Metropolitan Police investigation) involved Undercover Officers (UCOs), and hundreds of thousands of pages of telephone and financial evidence.
As part of a detailed legal argument on the interpretation of “control” in a sex work context, the Crown argued that it was made out by the agency allocating work (for the payment of a commission on bookings), a minimum hourly rate of pay, provision of a driver / personal guard for sex workers, and a recommended smart dress code for call-outs. Sex workers with the agency had full and free choice as to whether or not to see a client, what services were performed, and whether to leave a booking at any time. The Crown acknowledged there was no evidence of violence, force, threats, or coercion, and abandoned the human trafficking charges (potentially attracting life imprisonment) prior to jury empanelment, with the jury returning acquittals on all remaining counts at trial.
Ms Hodgetts represented D1 in Trial 1, who only became D3 after Co-Defendants were extradited. This case had 3 trials. The first trial (2022) was abandoned due to inadequate Prosecution disclosure. The first retrial (2024) had the jury discharged after a third party inadvertently adduced inadmissible material. In the second retrial, or third trial (2025), the jury acquitted on all counts at trial.
