Couple compelled girls into prostitution and spent earnings on ‘lavish way of life’ | News UK

A pair who trafficked girls from Europe and compelled them into prostitution spent their earnings on a ‘lavish lifestyle’ after duping the younger girls.

Polish nationals Wieslaw Michniewicz, 53, and his spouse, Aleksandra Timoszek, 32, invited younger girls to the UK with the promise of official work earlier than utilizing them as prostitutes.

Michniewicz and Timoszek, who lived on Willow Avenue, Burley, focused susceptible girls, predominantly from Poland, promising them jobs as childminders or at native outlets.

But when the victims arrived within the UK, they had been informed that they had a debt to repay and had been compelled into intercourse work.

The youngest sufferer was delivered to the UK aged 17 and was put to work in a brothel the day after her 18th birthday.

The girls had been compelled to work as much as 20 hours a day, seven days every week, offering sexual providers.

All the cash they earned was handed on to the couple who lived a lavish way of life on the earnings, driving costly sports activities automobiles, the courtroom heard.

The pair had been assisted by Michniewicz’s cousin, Mariusz Seretny, and spouse, Marta Seretny, who had been dwelling at Grange Close, Hunslet, and had been discovered to have had a supporting position in prostituting the ladies.

After a decade-long investigation from West Yorkshire Police, officers arrested the couple at their dwelling deal with on September 14, 2016, on suspicion of offences referring to trendy slavery.

Several girls had been discovered on the deal with, and three luxurious sports activities automobiles – a Porsche Panamera, a Porsche Carrera and an Audi R8 – had been additionally seized from the couple, together with £16,000 money.

Analysis of handwritten ledgers recovered from a protected confirmed that prostitution of the victims had generated about £170,000, with particulars of the sizeable money owed every sufferer confronted.

Three defendants had been discovered responsible of contemporary slavery and controlling prostitution offences and jailed for a complete of 27.5 years between them at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.

During the investigation, officers recognized 14 victims, aged between 17 and 31, who had been focused.

Women thought-about unsuitable on arrival within the UK had been despatched again to Poland, and one other had develop into suspicious and refused to journey to the UK.

Receipts from the Willow Avenue deal with confirmed giant sums of cash being transferred in another country, and CCTV footage from the home confirmed the victims being pushed off by Michniewicz and Timoszek day by day.

Throughout the investigation, detectives maintained contact with the victims, a lot of whom returned to Poland following the arrests of Michniewicz and Timoszek.

Through a joint investigation group facilitated by Europol, cops had been in a position to safeguard and assist the victims in Poland and use specifically educated officers to safe their proof.

The 4 defendants had been charged with trendy slavery and controlling prostitution offences in February 2023, however each Michniewicz and Timoszek fled the nation.

The pair had been traced by officers and extradited again to the UK and remanded in custody till their trial, which started at Leeds Crown Court in November 2025.

The jury returned unanimous responsible verdicts in opposition to all 4 defendants on December 18, 2025.

Michniewicz was sentenced to fifteen years’ jail, with Timoszek given a time period of seven-and-a-half years.

Mariusz Seretny, 45, was jailed for 5 years, and 41-year-old Marta Seretny was sentenced to a 12-month neighborhood order with 80 hours of unpaid work and 5 rehabilitation days.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Helen Steele mentioned: ‘Modern slavery offences are really abhorrent, and we stay completely dedicated to doing every part we will to focus on these concerned.

‘This is a crime that is often hidden in plain sight, and we would urge members of the public to report any suspicions they have that this type of exploitation is taking place to us immediately.’

Get in contact with our information group by emailing us at [email protected].

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