A wicked stepmother has been found guilty of persuading her teenage stepdaughter to go on the game because the family was cash-strapped.
The High Criminal Court sentenced the 38-year-old woman to three years in prison and fined her BD2,000 for exploiting the 17-year-old, as well as encouraging and aiding a minor to commit prostitution.
Judges also ordered the Pakistani defendant be deported after completing her sentence and pay for the costs of repatriating the girl back home.
The court heard that the woman flew into Bahrain from Pakistan with the child with the express purpose of getting her to enter into the sordid world of vice.
She was charged with transporting the girl between two residential flats with the intention of exploiting her for her own gain, and relying on the income generated by the victim’s engagement in illegal sex work.
According to court documents, the stepmother ‘brought clients from various nationalities’ to the child under her care using social media as an advertising tool.
She admitted to the offences under Public Prosecution questioning and confessed to receiving from between BD10 to BD20 from up to seven ‘customers’ per day.
The court heard that the 17-year-old told investigators that she wanted to help her family cope during a ‘difficult financial situation’. Due to her young age, the victim was designated as being ‘in a state where she was unable to consent’.
She testified in prosecution hearings that her stepmother was ‘kind’ to her and gave her an allowance from the money she earned through illicit sex work.
The defendant allegedly managed to convince the victim’s father to enter his daughter into prostitution to generate a new income source for the family, the court heard.
“I came to Bahrain accompanied by my father’s wife after she persuaded me to enter the sex work scene,” she told the Public Prosecution. “As soon as we arrived, we went to a hotel, where we stayed for five days, then we moved to another hotel.
“Then, the defendant began bringing customers to me, who were seeking pleasure, and I received money from them, which I would then hand over to her.”
A prosecutor earlier asked judges to ‘rule with an iron fist’ in the case in order to ‘stem this corruption that threatens society’.
“Your Honours, words fail me when I try to describe how foul this crime is,” a prosecutor earlier addressed the court. “Standing before you is someone who has shed all of their human morality, and has violated the rights of others.
“In a world overrun by desire and inundated with temptations, in which devils run loose, it is imperative for the good to take a stand - and Your Honours are chief among the good in this country.”
zainab@gdnmedia.bh
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