Wife 'sold to 100 men'

2008-05-16 14:45

Stockholm - A 44-year-old Swede has been charged with trafficking and pimping after forcing a mentally-challenged 19-year-old woman to work as a prostitute, freely distributed newspaper Metro reported on Friday.

The man contacted the woman via the internet and in August married her. He then forced her to sell sex to other men via an online sex site.

"We estimate that she has been sold to at least 100 men," police investigator Eva Sand told the newspaper.

"He controlled her completely and she did what he ordered her to do," prosecutor Robert Nappi said.

The probe suggested the woman was forced to sell sexual favours at a hotel in Stockholm and at several apartments in the west-coast city Gothenburg.

Two other men, aged 35 and 37, have been charged as accomplices. The younger man was also charged with rape.

The 44-year-old was also charged with abusing several minors and making threats.

The case came to light when police found an e-mail address in a computer owned by a paedophile that the 44-year-old had contacted.

Earlier this week, police raided several suspected paedophiles and seized computers believed to have contained child pornography. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA