Three women, ages 19, 22 and 23, have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 11 to 16 years for forcing a 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old woman into prostitution.

According to the Organized Crime Prosecution Service, the victims had become homeless, with the young man banished from home by his father, and the girl, an orphan from the provincial town of Donduseni, seeking a better life in Chisinau.

The court found that the sentenced women exploited the victims’ vulnerable situation, offering them accommodation and food in exchange for sexual services. The exploiters would find clients by posting ads. They would then pocket the gains, around 1000-1500 lei per client.