Two young men from Orhei and Falesti were sentenced to 15 and 16 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of their alleged girlfriends, aged 15 and 16. The girls, who were from a placement center, met the defendants, aged 27 and 30, in Chisinau in 2018, IPN reports.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases said that the 30-year-old defendant met the 15-year-old teenager in the summer of 2018, knowing that she was providing sexual services based on ads on an internet platform. The girl left the placement center to which she was taken after she ran away from home and had quarrels with her parents. A few months later, the teenager introduced the man to her 16-year-old friend, who came from the same center. The second girl’s mother died, while her father was later deprived of parental rights. The girl asserted that they were a couple while she also provided sexual services to clients for money. The girls both attempted to kill themselves while they stayed in the placement center.

The two young men rented apartments where the teenagers lived and provided sexual services, for 500-1,000 lei per client. When the teenagers refused to have sex for money, the two men insisted that more money is needed to pay off the accumulated debts. The authorities were notified by the brother of the 16-year-old girl, who worked in Portugal.

After learning about prosecutors’ proofs, the 30-year-old defendant married the victim he had exploited at the age of 15. This, however, did not constitute a reason for giving a milder sentence.

The men were remanded in custody after they were arrested at the end of 2018. Both of the defendants at that time were out of work and one of them had been previously given a suspended sentence for hooliganism and 3.4 years in prison for theft. Now he is also investigated for fraud. The examination of the case by the Buiucani Court of Chisinau lasts because two panels of judges were replaced due to the transfer of some of the judges to other courts.