A woman from Orhei was sentenced to 20 years in jail for trafficking in persons in the municipality of Chisinau. The woman is 38 and has been in detention since 2018, after being convicted of trafficking in children. Her child is in the care of relatives, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases, the five victims were trafficked in 2016-2017. They were aged between 23 and 28. The woman tried to persuade them to change their testimonies in her favor, but the police thwarted her plans.

The woman committed the offense together with her husband. The man was convicted in a separate case to 21 years behind bars in May 2018. Profiting from the precarious financial situation of the victims, the couple lured them and accommodated them in a rented apartment. The girls had sex for money at the hotel or at the clients’ domicile for 700 lei an hour or €150 a night. Half of the gained money was paid to the two for accommodation and food.

The sentence passed by the Buiucani Court of Chisinau can be challenged in a higher court.