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Abstracts: February 2004
February 2, 2004
Probe over lap dancer aged 15
Evening Mail
According to this article:
A 15-year-old girl claimed that she got a job as a lap dancer at Spearmint Rhino Extreme where bosses did not verify her claim to be 18 or require her to show photo ID. She allegedly worked 3 nights a week from 9 pm to 4 am for 5 weeks under the stage name "Charmaine" before quitting due to an injury. Birmingham City Council warned that court action could be taken against the club because the responsibility the check ages clearly rests with the employer.
According to
Spearmint Rhino's solicitor Mark Spragg, the club has launched a probe to determine why the girl's true age was not discovered. He stated that it had always been a requirement that the dancer produce photo ID and they are taking this matter very seriously.
- http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/?objectid=
13905742&method=full&siteid=50002/
February 3, 2004
Lap dancing crackdown
Evening Mail
James Cartledge
According to this article:
Birmingham City Council’s child employment team is investigating Spearmint Rhino Extreme where a 15 year old girl claims to have worked as a lapdancer without her claim of being 18 checked by the club. New powers are set to go into force to ensure future dancers are aged 18 or older. Complex changes regarding the issuance of public entertainment licences reportedly were approved by the licensing committee in January. According to a council spokeswoman, clubs must now prove that none of their activities are licentious.
Spearmint Rhino is investigating whether the underage dancer was asked for photo ID and bosses were alleged to be concerned that "dirty tricks" involving rival lap-dancing clubs might have been a factor.
- http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/?objectid=
13910180&method=full&siteid=50002/
February 3, 2004
Club blames dirty tricks
Evening Mail
According to this article:
Birmingham City Council's child protection team is investigating the Spearmint Rhino Extreme club after a 15 year old girl claimed she worked there as a dancer for five weeks. The club claimed that a "dirty tricks" campaign by rival clubs could be one explanation and that she could have been part of a "sting operation" by a rival club or anti-lapdancing campaigners.
Spearmint Rhino's solicitor Mark Spragg said the company would like to see a national ID card introduced and that the club tries to ask for photo ID in a passport or driving licence. He said they have now added a requirement that the photo ID goes to the head office.
- http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/?objectid=
13909328&method=full&siteid=50002/
February 3, 2004
Lap-dancing club claims 'dirty tricks'
Birmingham Post
This article gives details of the claims of an alleged underage dancer at Spearmint Rhino Extreme in Birmingham. See articles above.
According to this article:
Alan Sartori, owner of The Rocket Club on Broad Street, agreed this matter could have been a set up. He said: “What they are saying is quite right, but they need to come up with some evidence. “I do not know anything about this case but it is a cut-throat industry. These sort of things, these set ups, do go on in this industry because I have been subject to it myself. “It is part of the cut and thrust of the industry and they have been in it longer than I have so I am amazed that they have fallen for it, if it was a set up.”
- http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/?objectid=
13908605&method=full&siteid=50002/
February 4, 2004
Owners of lapdancing clubs appear in court in Dublin The Best Irish Website
According to this article:
The owners of four Irish lapdancing clubs arrested during Operation Quest have appeared in court in Dublin to face charges of illegally employing female dancers. They faced a total of ninety-five charges, all but one of which relates to unlawful employment of women without legal documentation to work in Ireland. The cases were postponed until April.
February 4, 2004
Lap dance club
owners in court
According to this article:
Ten owners, operators and managers of four Dublin lapdancing clubs
have appeared in court charged with employing lap dancers illegally.The four clubs involved are Lapellos, Playmates, Strings and La
Petite. The companies under which the clubs trade have also been charged. They face a total of 95 charges in relation to employing over
30 women, mainly from Eastern Europe, as lap dancers.
The ten are: Owners Christopher Kelly (Lapellos), David Long (Playmates) Edward Fahy & Sinead Fahy (La Petite) and Mary & Martin Cullen (Strings) as well as Managers: Louise Keane, Stephen Pell & Gareth Ward and Paul Lawless.
Christopher Kelly was also charged with possession of a firearm. The cases were adjourned until two dates in April.
- "Lap dance club owners in court" RTE News February 4, 2004.
Dec 2, 2004 <http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0204/lapdancing.html>
February 4, 2004
Lapdance Owners Charged with Employing Women Illegally
Scotsman
Victoria Ward, PA News
Details of court appearance of operators of four Dublin lapdancing clubs charged after Operation Quest. (See articles above. )
Additional information in this article:
All charges but one relate to the Employment Permits Act with regard to employing 30 women illegally. Judge Timothy Lucey at Richmond District Court presided.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2491614
February 7, 2004
City's strip club error
icBirmingham
Evening Mail
James Cartledge
According to this article:
Birmingham City Council is investigating why a ban on under-18 strippers has never been implemented despite its approval in April 2002. This came to light after the claims of a 15 year old girl allegedly lapdancing for Spearmint Rhino Extreme. (See articles above.) Initial City Council statements that rules regarding employing over 18's only had been approved in January 2004 were disproved by documents showing the policy had been adopted in 2002.
February 7, 2004
Blair to unveil crime superforce
Guardian
Rosie Cowan
According to this article:
An announcement will be made early next week regarding the Organised Crime Agency; set up to tackle organised crime, vice and money-laundering at a national and international level. The agency will have a core workforce of 4-5000 and will combine elements of the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and Customs, with highly-skilled financial and technology specialists to fight increasingly sophisticated global criminal cartels. The government hopes the agency will eradicate counter-productive competition between various police units and other security organisations.
It should also save money in the long term by annexing units like the National Crime Squad and NCIS, which have annual budgets of £130m and £90m respectively, and avoiding costly duplication.
Various sources are quoted in reaction to the announcement.
February 9, 2004
5,000 Sex Workers Bring Crime Bosses Huge Profits
The Record
According to this article:
At least 5,000 prostitutes work on streets and in saunas and flats across Scotland and the demand for illicit sex has never been greater. Buying sex on websites is the latest trend.
Scotland is being targeted by sex trafficking gangs and the vice trade is fuelling drug networks, money laundering and violence.
Strathclyde assistant chief constable Graeme Pearson said: "The sex trade in Scotland is worth £200 million a year. Most of these brothels are largely being run by organised criminals.
Lothian and Borders police chiefs, who have compiled a report on brothels which reveals that many saunas and flats are being operated by criminals with profits of £10 million a year. Many of the private homes are doubling as vice and crack cocaine dens. The reports recommends a vice squad be created like the one in London.
The Scottish Parliament has appointed an expert group to probe the vice industry due to pressure from campaigners and politicians. Findings are expected in the next few months.
Independent MSP Margo McDonald who sits on the working group, has reintroduced a bill at the Parliament to give powers to local authorities to set up red-light tolerance zones.
Glasgow has 1400 street prostitutes and 300 prostitutes working in saunas and private flats, according to the city council. Police say that over 100 private flats are operating as brothels. Up to 1000 prostitutes work in Edinburgh, with 150 of them on the street. Dundee has 70 street girls but there is no information on how many more work in flats and saunas. Aberdeen has 300 girls working in the red-light area but there is no intelligence on the flat/sauna scene. Hundreds more prostitutes advertise on the internet or in newspapers. Others get clients through contact magazines. Street prostitutes earn an average £150 a day; 97% of them are heroin addicts.
February 10, 2004
Crime exposes spark death threats
The Scotsman
Dan McDougall
According to this article:
Daily Record and Sunday Mail journalists were briefed on Friday about death threats. Police intelligence indicated that one of Glasgow's most feared criminal clans had made the threats due to the Sunday Mail's "Crime Inc." campaign and the "Vice in Scotland" series in the Daily Record. Two years earlier the same group had threatened to take out a contract on a member of the Daily Record's staff. Police installed a panic button in the journalist's home and offered 24 hour protection. The current threat was thought to be serious due to an escalating "turf war" over Glasgow's drug trade.
A spokesman for the National Union of Journalists called the threats extremely worrying.
February 11, 2004
Investigation finds prostitutes using apartment at Pentire
Newquay Voice
Warren Wilkins
According to this article:
Police received a tip off by builders regarding prostitution in Newquay and discovered prostitutes openly operating. a 26 year old Newquay woman and a 27 year old Plymouth woman were working out of an apartment in the Pentire area, charging men £60 for three quarters of hour. The brothel was said to be very popular and doing a "brisk trade". Newquay Voice reporters were told by the self-proclaimed pimp that the women were looking for a new location to operate from in the Newquay area after their lease ended.
Lady Long, co-chairman of Newquay Action Group, expressed her belief that her fears about the resort becoming a red light district are coming true. Others in the community were also quoted.
February 11, 2003
Nightspots want to retain licences to stage topless shows
The Wilmslow Express
According to this article:
Owners of the former Lizard nightclub, Alderley Edge, and Suede Bar, Wilmslow, want to renew permits allowing them to operate as strip clubs. Owners want to offer lap-dancing at Lizard, which has been closed for a year. At the Suede Bar, Wilmslow, owners want tokeep their licence for table–top dancing with topless stage performers. There was outrage in 2001 when club operator, Honeycombe Leisure, first applied for a dancing permit at Suede in Grove Street.
Wilmslow councillor Wesley Fitzgerald said no objections had been raised so far. He said: “This kind of entertainment is now normal. It seems it is what people want and is readily available elsewhere." “So far we haven’t been confronted with table dancing on Grove Street, but we will just have to see what happens."
February 11, 2003
Table dancers’ mixed welcome
Croydon Guardian
Daniel Menhinnitt
According to this article:
A £1million club, For Your Eyes Only (FYEO), Croydon could be open as early as May and plans have been met with a mixed reaction.The Newcastle-based company runs other clubs in Bournemouth, Southampton and Mayfair. The company applied for a licence in 2001 but faced some opposition at the time. They now believe attitudes are changing.
Sergeant Chris Gould, Croydon's police licensing officer, said they would impose very strict conditions to ensure that it operates within the legal system. Punters will be able to purchase a personal dance for £10, but touching or propositioning the dancers will not be allowed. The club is planning to run regular ladies nights.
February 12, 2004
Police fears as boss of lap-dance club leaves
According to this article:
Police are concerned about the sudden resignation of Les Pierce, sole liquor
licensee and overall manager of Spearmint Rhino's flagship club (Tottenham Court
Road). On February 13, the company is expected to inform police and council
officials of its chosen replacement. Mr. Pierce was hired in March, 2003, after
a court case (heard at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court) calling for denial of
the club's liquor and late licences due to discoveries by undercover police of
dancers offering sex and flouting the 'no touching' rules by dancers. The
court ruled that Mr. Pierce must run the club and enforce tighter regulations on
the dancers.
Police are challenging the current licence renewal request. Residents
living in Paramount Court, near the club, have also made complaints to the
Camden Council regarding the noise. Those complaints will be reviewed in
March.
Quote:
“The Met Police strongly believe that Mr Pierce’s leaving the company will now
plunge the club back to the way it was prior to him taking charge, namely that
prostitutes will operate on the premises, indecent conduct will take place with
the offer of sexual services and that street touting will increase.” -Stuart
Jenkins, Metropolitan Police’s clubs and vice unit
February 15, 2004
Slavery fears for 'lost' children
BBC Radio Five Live
Matthew Chapman
Abstract to follow.
Matthew Chapman's documentary The Five Live Report: Please Look After This Child is broadcast at 1100 GMT on Sunday and repeated at 1930 GMT on Radio Five Live.
February 19, 2004
Zones 'will not solve city vice girls problem'
Evening Times
Martin Murray
Abstract to follow.
February 19, 2004
The Commission welcomes the adoption of a programme of financial and technical assistance to third countries in the area of migration and asylum
European Commission, Brussels
DN: IP/04/243
"On the basis of the Commission's proposal, the Council today adopted the Regulation establishing a special programme of financial and technical assistance to third countries in the area of migration and asylum. This multiannual cooperation programme, renamed AENEAS after the hero of Virgil's Aeneid, has a budget of 250 million euros for the period 2004-2008 and will ensure the systematic inclusion of migration issues in political dialogue and instruments for cooperation with third countries. It is yet another example of the Commission putting into practice its commitment to take greater account of migration in its external action. (1)
The new programme is intended as a specific, additional response in order to provide technical and financial assistance to third countries and support their efforts to manage all aspects of migration flows more effectively.
The regulation allows any third country, without geographical restrictions, to take advantage of the migration programme. However, third countries which have signed a readmission agreement with the Community might receive special attention.
In terms of thematic coverage, five major action areas have been identified, corresponding to key aspects of the migration phenomenon: the development of immigration policies in third countries, the promotion of legal migration channels, international protection, combating illegal immigration, including human trafficking, readmission and sustainable reintegration of returnees in their countries of origin. The thematic scope relates directly to the issue of migration. A variety of operations will be eligible for financing, including measures to improve capacity in third countries in the areas of migration and asylum policy, the development of legislation, information campaigns, the dissemination of information on legal migration channels, the establishment of regional dialogue, the socio-economic reintegration of migrants, and promoting migrants' contribution to the development of their countries of origin, etc.
Although the programme is in keeping with the general framework for the Community's policy of development cooperation with third countries, it is mainly intended to integrate migration as an internal cross-cutting priority in the EU's external action. Operations financed by the programme will therefore correspond as far as possible to the Community's own interests.
The programme should also ensure greater visibility for the contribution made by the Community's external policy to migration-related issues. This contribution is not intended to replace ongoing or future operations in the same areas financed from other development cooperation instruments. Its purpose is to complement them or propose new initiatives consistent with the Community's strategic approach to the countries and regions concerned, so as to provide an additional multiplier effect.
Background
In 2001, 2002 and 2003, the budgetary authority entered specific appropriations for the financing of preparatory operations concerning cooperation with third countries in the field of migration in the general budget of the Union. Just over 40 million euro has been spent in the last three years on various cooperation measures with third countries in the areas of migration flow management, combating illegal immigration, and migration and development. In its communication adopted in December 2003 in response to the conclusions of the Seville European Council, the Commission called for migration issues to be integrated into external relations and suggested that cooperation activities in the migration field should be extended beyond the preparatory phase by providing the Community with a new instrument and additional financial resources. To put this commitment into practice, in June 2003 the Commission presented the Council and European Parliament with a proposal for a regulation establishing a legal framework for the new instrument. It has taken the Community institutions six months to reach agreement on the draft under the codecision procedure; the speed with which they have done so testifies to the political priority given to the issue of migration.
(1) Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on Integrating migration issues in the European Union's external relations, COM(2002)703."
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/
guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=
IP/04/243|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=
February 20, 2004
Jordan – Get me out of Wakefield!
Wakefield Today
Abstract to follow.
February 20, 2004
Lapping it up
Megastar
Daisy Kay
Opinion
Abstract to follow.
February 20, 2004
Club Wicked 'quits' SE1
London SE1 website team
According to this article:
Club Wicked has withdrawn its licence applications and will be holding monthly events at other locations while the club is re-branded "Atlantis", a lap-dancing venue. Club Wicked owner, Brian Sheridan has granted a 5-year operating licence to Mark Bambridge.
February 23, 2004
Man Shot Dead at Lap-Dancing Club
The Scotsman
Will Batchelor, PA News
According to this article:
A man was shot dead on this date at the High Society lap-dancing club in Stockport. He was allegedly shot in the head in a gangland-style murder.
February 23, 2004
Murder at lap-dance club
Manchester News
Robert Bottomley
According to this article:
A man was murdered by a gunman inside the High Society Lap Dancing Club in Stockport shortly before 2 am. He was shot in the head in what appeared to be a gangland-style execution. The victim had yet to be identified due to the horrific nature of his injuries. It was not known how many customers were in the club at the time and witnesses were asked to come forward.
February 23, 2004
Plans for lap dancing club face opposition
The Herald
Iain Wilson
According to this article:
Glasgow city council is opposing revived plans to establish a table-dancing club in the city, complaining that it would "demean and exploit" women. The plans are for the same location as an earlier application that was scrapped in June 2002 by Leisure Entertainment Enterprise (UK) Ltd. The company behind the current application for licence is The Glasgow Oyster One Ltd.
Violet Vezza, listed at Companies House as sole director of Oyster One was approached by the Herald and said she wanted to make it a lap-dancing club.
Glasgow is the first local authority in the UK to object to all table and lap-dancing application on grounds of sexual exploitation.
February 25, 2004
Man held over club shooting
Granada Reports
According to this article:
Police have named the man who was murdered at the High Society lap-dancing club in Stockport as Fabian Flowers, age 19. A man, also 19, was being interviewed by Manchester Police in connection with the murder.
February
25, 2004
Ireland -
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003
(Excerpts)
...Women
...The Garda recorded 10,248 incidents of domestic violence in 2002. In addition
to 18 rape crisis centers, there were 15 women's shelters and 13 women's centers
throughout the country, funded in part by the Government. A Voluntary Housing
Capital Assistance Scheme and a Voluntary Housing Subsidy Scheme provide long-
and short-term housing options for victims of sexual violence. All Garda
received training on the investigation of cases of domestic violence, rape, and
sexual assault...
...In 2002, the Dublin Rape Crisis Center reported receiving 11,808 counseling
calls in all categories (child sexual abuse, adult rape, adult sexual assault,
sexual harassment), which continued an upward trend in frequency of calls. The
center estimated in 2002 that 37 percent of rape victims reported the crime to
police, and the conviction rate in reported domestic violence incidents was 6
percent.
The law criminalizes rape within marriage, and the Civil Legal Aid Act provides
for free legal advice to victims in cases of serious sexual assault. In rape
cases, the State brings the case against the accused, with the complainant
(victim) acting as a witness. The Sex Offenders Act of 2001 provides that
"separate legal representation will be provided to complainants in rape and
other serious sexual assault cases where application is made to adduce evidence
or to cross-examine the complainant about his or her past sexual experience."
...Children
...In 2002, the Dublin Rape Crisis Center reported that 45 percent of calls to
its crisis line involved child sexual abuse. The Child Care Act requires
government health boards to identify and help children who are not receiving
adequate care, and it gives the police increased powers to remove children from
the family when there is an immediate and serious risk to their health or
welfare. The Child Trafficking and Pornography Act aims to protect children from
sexual exploitation, including any exchange of information on the Internet that
implies a child is available for sex.
...Trafficking in Persons
...The law prohibits trafficking in persons, and there were no confirmed reports
that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country; however, NGOs and
others offered anecdotal, but unsubstantiated, reports of trafficking.
The Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Department of Justice are the
governmental organizations responsible for combating trafficking.
The Child Trafficking and Pornography Act criminalizes trafficking in children
for the purpose of sexual exploitation, with penalties of up to life
imprisonment. The Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act criminalizes the
activities of persons trafficking in illegal immigrants and asylum seekers.
There is no specific legislation addressing trafficking in women for sexual
criminal activities, although laws prohibit the exploitation of prostitutes, and
the exploitation of prostitutes by means of coercion or fraud. Traffickers who
facilitate for gain the entry of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers are liable
for fines or imprisonment for terms ranging from 1 to 10 years.
Dublin Garda raided several lap-dance clubs that were employing illegal female
workers, and the Limerick Garda raided a brothel that was bringing prostitutes
into the city from Eastern Europe, but the women stated that they had entered
the country voluntarily. A man and a woman were convicted for running the
brothel: Both were sentenced to 4 months in prison, but the female's sentence
was suspended. The press reported that three English language schools were being
used as fronts to smuggle Eastern European women into Ireland to have them work
as lap dancers and prostitutes, and Garda were investigating this accusation at
year's end.
The Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs and the GNIB were involved in
anti-trafficking efforts, and there were links between government officials,
NGOs, and other elements of civil society on trafficking issues. A coalition of
NGOs that deal in part with trafficking issues met periodically during the year.
February 26, 2004
Plans for table-dancing club are dropped
The Herald
Iain Wilson
According to this article:
The Glasgow Oyster One Ltd has withdrawn its application to Glasgow city council for an entertainment licence to open a table dancing club in the city. Jim Coleman, the deputy council leader, said "It's a sign the message is getting through it won't be easy to open up this kind of enterprise in Glasgow. This is the fourth application to be withdrawn over the last couple of years."
February 26, 2004
Cut it out
ic Renfrewshire.co.uk
According to this article:
"A Bit Off The Top", a topless barber shop due to open yards away from a popular nursery school has been criticized by local parents who believe it will attract perverts and put their children at risk. The shop will be run by the Urban Group, based in Glasgow and will employ strippers who are also trained hairdressers who were recruited from a Glasgow lap-dancing club. By appointment only and for around £20, men can select a topless girl to treat them to a head massage, followed by a haircut in a private cubicle. Services are hoped to expand to include full body massage. There is no requirement for permission from the city council or police to open the shop. Tom Scholes of the council said he had concerns over this type of business opening in the town center and understood the opposition.
Councillor John McDowell, of the Regulatory Functions Board explained that Renfrewshire did not have the power to licence this type of venture.
February 27, 2004
Club owner's plans for city lap dancing
Wakefield Today
A
self-styled 'Peter Stringfellow' is opening Wakefield's fourth lap dancing club despite a councillor's outcry against it.
According to this article:
Wildcats, a new lap-dancing club which will be open 7 days a week with 100 weekly dancers will be launched in Wakefield on March 10. The Blue Rooms, Shooters and 20/20 lap-dancing clubs also exist in Wakefield. The owner, Matthew Haycox, 23, plans to eventually open a chain of clubs and expand his brand with online member's clubs and erotic limo service.
Coun Norman Hazell said: "What's the next thing? The official opening of brothels? It just represents the slow decline of moral standards. I used to be so proud of Wakefield and am sorry to see things slipping."
February 27, 2004
Asylum seeker vice madam
The Sun
Mike Sullivan
According to this article:
Lithuanian
Guinara Gadzijeva, 36, was sentenced for six years by Harrow Crown Court for controlling prostitutes. The court heard that after having been "kicked out of Britain" Gadzijeva had returned and made millions of pounds running a sex slave racket in London, smuggling 100 girls from Eastern Europe. She ran 3 brothels behind the Park Lane hotel, known as the Hilton Flats.
She had £750,000 on her when arrested and owned several properties, a shop and two limos.She was assisted by Russian Olga Chukanova, 30 who was sentenced to 3 years, and her Sri Lankan husband, Venthasalam Muruganathan, also sentenced to 3 years.
Girls paid £20,000 to get into Britain, lured by the promise of a job. Upon arrival, Gadzijeva demanded they earn at least £600 a day as prostitutes, then charged them £450 a day rent and £75 “maid fees”.
Some girls had sex with 40 men a day.
February 29, 2004
Lapdancing 'nightmare'
The Sun
Nick Parker
Julie Moult
According to this article:
Les Pierce quit the Spearmint Rhino club claiming he was unable to control the wild lap-dancers. Pierce is an ex-cop and said girls were breaking rules forbidding them to fondle themselves or customers during private lap-dances in booths. He said staff had been cut and dancers were monitored on CCTV and he claimed that he was prevented from controlling the girls and that he CCTV was not monitored. A request for a new licence has now been postponed. Sun reporters visited the club and witnessed lapdancers masturbating and exposing themselves.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004100497,00.html
February 29, 2004
I saw torment of sex slaves
The Express on Sunday Abstract to follow.
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