A former regional police agent connected to Benidorm was reportedly arrested in Alicante on suspicion of running a house of prostitution. He is accused of coercing young women he recruited online to engage in sexual exploitation, holding them in a residence used as a brothel. The case came to light after the mother of one of the victims, a 19-year-old with a disability, alerted the National Police about the situation. The victims were required to be available around the clock and were not permitted to leave the premises. The information was shared on Wednesday by sources from the Provincial Police Station.
At the time of his arrest, the suspected man presented himself as a member of the Benidorm Local Police and showed agents a badge. The arrest took place at the residence where his two victims were staying.
Subsequent investigations determined that the detainee had not been a member of the police force for several years. Consequently, charges include human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, prostitution, and usurpation of public office.
The alleged abuse, carried out under the threat against the person under investigation, reportedly escalated to the point of endangering a victim. It involved forcing sexual acts, even if injuries occurred, according to documents from the investigation.
They did not dare to object
Alicante’s Provincial Immigration and Border Brigade, working against illegal immigration networks and document forgery, took charge of the probe after receiving information from a victim who was 19 years old and particularly vulnerable due to psychiatric issues. She disclosed that she had been prostituted by a man who used threats while in an Alicante house that he controlled.
Investigators established that the suspect recognized the young woman’s vulnerability stemming from her psychiatric condition, according to police sources. They also found that additional women were forced into prostitution at the residence, and that fear of retaliation and threats prevented them from reporting the abuse.
It was learned that the recruitment of the victims occurred through erotic websites on the internet, which advertised lucrative earnings through prostitution. The women, deceived and coerced, endured sexual exploitation at the house operated by the suspect, who controlled them around the clock. Some victims testified that they could not leave the premises. The 50-year-old detainee was handed over to the Alicante Investigations Court for further proceedings.