Coventry sex trafficker kept pregnant woman locked in room Published duration 10 September 2019

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Robert Enescu was sentenced in his absence to nine years in prison

A pregnant woman was kept locked in a room and made to pose in lingerie for adult sites by a sex trafficker who planned to force her into prostitution.

Romanian national Robert Enescu was convicted on Monday of trafficking her from his homeland to Coventry.

He imprisoned the woman in a room with no heating, bed or toilet before she was found by detectives, police said.

The 26-year-old was jailed in his absence for nine years at Warwick Crown Court and is being hunted by police.

The woman, who has since returned to Romania, was three-months pregnant when she responded to an advert for masseuses and arrived in the UK on 16 February, West Midlands Police said.

"She was kept in a locked room at an address in Enfield with no food or heating, just a mattress to lie on and a bucket as a toilet," said Det Insp Wes Martin.

She was later taken to Coventry where "it was clear he intended to force her into prostitution" and was "kept captive in squalid conditions and subject to degrading treatment", he added.

image copyright Google image caption Police found suspected sex slaves at an address on St Christian's Road in Coventry

Police intercepted the woman on 20 February following a call from a concerned taxi driver, who had been booked by Enescu to take her to a brothel in St Christians Road in Coventry.

"All she had in her possession was a bag of around 50 condoms Enescu had given her," Det Insp Martin said.

Police raided the brothel the next day, finding "several Eastern European women suspected of being used as sex slaves".

Enescu, of no fixed address, was arrested on 22 February, and denied involvement. He skipped bail the day before his trial was due to begin.

Police have now issued a wanted appeal across Europe and are appealing for information.