CUDDALORE: Cuddalore mahila court sessions judge D Lingeswaran on Friday convicted 16 people, including eight women, for kidnapping two minor girls from Thittakudi in the district and forcing them into prostitution. The judge, however, acquitted a woman as the prosecution failed to prove her involvement in the crime. The judge reserved the order to be pronounced on Monday.A husband and wife and a woman, booked by the police, came out on bail and absconded.Two others had died during the trial. Police could not trace a man wanted for his reported involvement in the crime.According to the prosecution, two schoolgirls, one aged 14 years and other 12 years, from Thittakudi went missing on June 8, 2014. Thittakudi police registered a case after the parents of the 14-year-old girl lodged a complaint on July 11. The other girl, who had lost her parents, was staying in her guardian’s house.The girls appeared before the police station on August 5 and charged that some gangs involved in flesh trade kidnapped them and forced them into prostitution.The girls said the gangs took them to several cities and towns including Salem, Puducherry and Ulundurpet and sold them to agents.The girls said they managed to escape unable to bear the physical abuse by several men for over two months. Police registered a case against 23 people following the statements of the girls under Section 366, 366-A, 372 and 342 of the Indian penal code, Section 6 and 17 of the protection of children from sexual offences act, 2012 and relevant sections of the Immoral traffic (prevention) act, 1956.Police arrested 22 of the accused people and could not secure one accused. Three of then escaped after obtaining bail while two died during the trial. The complainant moved the Madras high court and got a direction to transfer the case to the CB-CID on July 4, 2016.