North Rhine-Westphalia: The start of the "Loverboy trial": the accused are silent

Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In the process of forced prostitution with the so-called loverboy scam, the three accused men were silent on Monday at the start of the Düsseldorf Regional Court.

North Rhine-Westphalia: The start of the "Loverboy trial": the accused are silent

Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In the process of forced prostitution with the so-called loverboy scam, the three accused men were silent on Monday at the start of the Düsseldorf Regional Court. The public was excluded from the testimony of the alleged victim, a 24-year-old woman, mother of a small child. The 30 to 34-year-old defendants from Remscheid and Düsseldorf are accused of forced prostitution, pimping and, in some cases, rape and physical harm. If convicted, the three men face several years in prison.

According to the indictment, the 30-year-old defendant, with the support of the two co-defendants, "feigned" a relationship with a young woman on Facebook four years ago. According to the public prosecutor, he then forced her into prostitution "using her personal and financial predicament". The men are said to have repeatedly offered the then 20-year-old as a prostitute via an online portal, organized the meetings and collected the love wages.

At the start, the three accused men only confirmed their personal details, but did not want to give any information about their personal circumstances or the allegations.

According to the indictment, the alleged victim met the 30-year-old on "Facebook" in June 2018 and trusted the man. A little later there was the first meeting. The young woman had talked about her financial worries and debts. The Remscheider is said to have suggested that she go into prostitution.

The 30-year-old main defendant is said to have made the woman compliant by threatening to inform her conservative parents. In order to increase the woman's misery, he is said to have plundered her checking account and withdrawed almost 1,200 euros with her EC card. After several meetings with clients, the alleged victim went to the police months later - in December 2018.

In the process, the 31-year-old co-accused is also accused of raping another woman. In September 2018 he is said to have forced his victim to have sex with a machete - initially there was talk of a sword.