A Hove man has been jailed for holding a call girl down by the throat to stop her escaping from his home.
Rupert Verrell, 31, held the girl, known as Kitty, against her will at his home in Palmeira Avenue, Hove.
He had called the prostitute in August 2007 and drank a lot and took drugs before becoming angry with her when she refused to do all that he asked.
Kitty, who came to England from China in 2004, became increasingly scared for her life and phoned her sister several times to ask her to send a taxi.
She was distressed and crying but Verrell, who had a gun, kept hold of her and refused to let her leave the flat when taxis arrived.
She eventually tricked him into letting her out of the flat by saying that she would buy him some cigarettes.
When she escaped, police officers were waiting outside, having been alerted by Kitty’s sister.
Jailing Verrell for false imprisonment for two and a half years at Hove Crown Court, Judge Charles Kemp said: “Girls that work in this (sex) industry and go to people’s houses are even more vulnerable.
“They should have the protection of the courts, and they will have the protection of the courts.”
Detective Sergeant Gary Tattersall, who investigated the case, said: “This was an excellent result for Sussex Police. These are very hard cases to prosecute but we are continuing our work to develop links with sex workers in the city so they feel they are able to come forward and speak to us.
“Anyone working in the sex industry is entitled to the same protection as everyone else from offences being committed against them.
“We would encourage people in this line of work to come forward and speak to us or the outreach working teams in Brighton and Hove should they be victims of incidents such as this one.
“We will support these men and women and, as this case demonstrates, give them the support they need from all levels of the criminal justice system.”
Detective Chief Inspector Ian Pollard, who heads Brighton and Hove CID, said: “Police in Brighton and Hove work very closely with outreach services such as the Oasis Project and Citylight which offer support and routes out of prostitution for sex workers.
“This joint working has helped to build the trust and confidence of sex workers in the police, and this is a good example of where this victim felt able to come forward and report what had happened to her.
“We will continue to work closely with partner agencies across the city to tackle this type of criminality, which is part of the Government’s national programme of Violence Against Women and Girls.”
Verrell’s conviction follows a case earlier this year when Stephan Mocanu, 33, from Romania, was found guilty of human trafficking at Hove Crown Court. Mocanu was sentenced to six years in prison.
whoever wrote this needs to go back to school and get their facts right wrong road dickhead and the gun was a bb gun hardly going to take your head off
I have know this man and his family for twenty years and this article is a disgrace. I kinder, gentler man it would be hard to find. yes, he had some drink and drug use problems and he used a prostitute, so what, I do that every week-end.
This man is an animal. And I have been on the receiving end of his violent temper when he hasn’t got what he wanted. Vile.
Whoever you are annie d you are talking utter nonsese. The man in question has been my lover and best friend for the past 7 years inc when this so called incident took place. He is the kindest most gentle man who unfortunately was suffering with alcohol and drug addiction! He has completely turned his life around in the last 2 years and I am very proud of him and proud to be his partner. Wish people wouldn’t write onsense on these things its unfair and harmful.