A former PCSO has been convicted of blackmailing women working at brothels.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how 31-year-old Kabeer Yousaf, of Barley Lane, Goodmayes, was working for Newham’s Green Street Safer Neighbourhoods Team in 2012 when he arranged to have sex with a woman in her 40s at a brothel in Corporation Street, West Ham.
Afterwards, he returned wearing uniform and demanded £2,000 to remove her details from the Metropolitan Police’s data systems, with the woman handing over £1,500 to Yousaf.
In October that year, he investigated anti-social behaviour at a brothel in St Stephen’s Road, East Ham, and returned a week later to demand the woman running it pay him money or he would shut it down.
The frightened woman agreed to pay £500 a fortnight, with Yousaf sometimes having sex with women at the brothel in lieu of payment.
The same woman was also blackmailed by Ionut-Viorel Motruc, 35, of no fixed address and Bogdan-Stefan Gherghel, 30, of Keogh Road, Stratford.
They visited in September 2013 and demanded the women there worked at one of Motroc’s brothels or paid £10,000.
Motroc sexually assaulted another woman at the St Stephen’s brothel and she was so frightened of him he worked for him in Ranelagh Road, Stratford, for one night.
It was there that she met Motroc’s wife, Monica-Olimpia Motroc, 35 of Romford Road who was running a brothel.
When the woman refused to keep working for Motroc, a fight broke out in St Stephen’s Road and police were called.
Gherghel received a neck injury and both she and the woman running the brothel were arrested, plus a male friend.
During the investigation, detectives identified two victims of trafficking, with the police’s trafficking and kidnap unit becoming suspicious that Motroc and Gherghel had given false names and addresses.
They were traced and arrested, with search warrants carried out at a number of brothels linked to Motruc.
At one in Vansittard Road, Waltham Forest, a Romanian woman was found locked in a room.
Police also found video footage on Motroc’s phone showing Yousaf knew him and Gherghel and had colluded with them.
Yousaf resigned from his post in February last year after he was arrested in January.
Motroc’s wife was arrested February 2014.
Following a trial which began on October 6 and finished on December 29, Yousaf was found guilty of two counts of blackmail, conspiracy to commit misconduct in a judicial or public office and committing misconduct in a public office.
Gherghel was found guilty of conspiracy to blackmail, pervert the court of justice and commit misconduct in a judicial or public office and three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain.
He was also found guilty of acquiring or possessing criminal property and two counts of controlling prostitution for gain.
Monica-Olimpia Motroc was found guilty of three counts of controlling prostitution for gain, false imprisonment, acquiring or possessing criminal property and removing criminal property from England and Wales.
Her husband, Ionut-Viorel Motroc was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, blackmail, to commit misconduct in a public office and to traffic persons within the UK for sexual exploitation, as well as three counts of conspiracy to control prostitution for gain.
He was also found to have committed sexual assault, people trafficking, false imprisonment, acquiring or possessing criminal property and removing it from England and Wales, plus four counts of controlling prostitution for gain.
A sentencing date for all four has not yet been set.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here