anyone see the pimp who got arrested in London on Ross Kemp's extreme world?

CorkMan · 07-09-2011 1:39am #1

A 'cold and calculating' sex trafficker whose arrest was filmed in a Ross Kemp documentary has been jailed for 11 years. Nerijus Leckecinskas, 34, helped bring a Lithuanian teenager into Britain last year before forcing her into a sordid life of prostitution.

His arrest in October was captured by a film crew working on Ross Kemp's Extreme World series, broadcast on Sky One earlier this year. He was later found guilty of a string of crimes, including one count of rape.

During his trial, Norwich Crown Court heard how the 19-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was collected from Gatwick airport by Lekecinskas after she was brought into the country in May last year. She was driven to Luton before being brought to Great Yarmouth where she was brutally raped.

Throughout her ordeal, Lekecinskas had ‘strict control over her movements,’ placing her in accommodation where she was intimidated and kept under permanent watch. He was later described as a ‘cold and calculating’ criminal by officers working on Norfolk Police's Operation Feed.

Lekecinskas, of Meadowland Drive, Bradwell, was convicted by a unanimous jury of controlling a person in prostitution for gain; trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation, and one count of rape. He was acquitted of another count of rape. He appeared alongside Skirmantas Kvedaras, 47, of Isaacs Road, Great Yarmouth, who was also found guilty of one count of rape and acquitted of a second similar charge.

Kvedaras was yesterday jailed for six years, alongside Lekecinskas. Investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Rickie Botwright said: 'I'm very pleased with the sentences issued which go some way in reassuring the victim as well as sending out a clear message to those involved in people trafficking.

'Lekecinskas presents himself as a calm individual but behind the exterior is a cold, sinister person capable of causing extreme misery. 'From the moment his victim entered the country he had strict control over her movements by placing her in accommodation where she was intimidated and constantly watched and followed.'

Paul Hedges, from the UK Border Agency, said: 'This was an appalling case. The gang involved treated the victim like a commodity, valuing them only in terms of the money they could make, not as a human being.'

Kemp’s documentary explored how the police and other agencies work to target the dark world of human trafficking.