They were madly in love with each other: Sanne S. (27) from Raamsdonksveer and her boyfriend Ertugul Y. (24) from Rotterdam. They were together all the time, had a lot of sex, used drugs and laughing gas and didn’t make a fuss about sharing all those fun things with others. But, when they started having sex for money and also offering the services of other women, everything turned around. And so the ex-lovers stood before the judge on Friday for human trafficking.
The two of them are suspected of having three vulnerable women work as prostitutes and exploiting them. And so suddenly 42 and thirty months in prison were demanded against Ertugul and Sanne. But according to the two, that is not true.
The relationships between the two lovers are still clearly visible in the courtroom. She does all the talking and is impulsive and somewhat chaotic. He is much calmer, but he can no longer remember a lot exactly. She is still at large, he has been in custody for fourteen months.
She keeps looking at him and responds non-verbally to everything he says. He is more the one who came up with all the crazy plans, as it turns out during the hearing. And Sanne also occasionally stands up for her boyfriend: “I’m actually the only one who understands him,” she says at one point, a little worried. “And I don’t want you to misunderstand him.”
Advertisements on sex sites
The two had a stormy relationship with lots of sex and drugs until the summer of 2022. Not only together, but also with others. For example, they invited other couples or men to have sex with them for payment through advertisements on sex sites, they said. And because of that they ended up in a different world.
Sanne’s boyfriend met three other women, who also had sex for money. The arrival of the three women created complicated relationships, which Sanne sometimes found difficult to deal with and to which she often reacted jealously or angrily.
Ertugul was addicted to laughing gas and Sanne was strongly against it. But the three other women were more than happy to use laughing gas with her boyfriend. And when they did that, they also used his sex ads and his work phone, Ertugul said.
‘Pimp’
From this point on, discussions in court varied considerably. Ertugul Y. stated that he only went to the women for the laughing gas and sometimes helped with sex dates and received money for that. But according to the judiciary, he was the ‘pimp’ of the three women (then aged 20, 21 and 35) and he, together with Sanne, often put them to work.
Y. would have earned a lot from the women, because the money earned was shared 50/50 plus an extra 50 euros for Y. for expenses. “And that while they were doing the work?” the judge noted.
This situation is said to have lasted roughly a year, from the summer of 2021 to 2022. The women feel they were exploited and to this day feel bad about what happened. They never wanted this, they said through lawyers, who demanded significant damages on their behalf.
54,000 euros
According to Y., each of the three ladies had only had voluntary sex dates for three weekends, but according to the justice department there must have been more. The file contains hundreds of transactions and more than 54,000 euros in earnings, but according to Y. that is not correct.
But, according to the public prosecutor, it really wasn’t about using some laughing gas and borrowing Ertugul’s phone to arrange sex dates for a fee. This involved forced prostitution and exploitation, she argued. These are vulnerable women with a large backpack, she explained. The women suffered from drug addiction, disorders such as borderline and admission to a closed youth institution.
Sex business
She painted a completely different picture of the two lovers: together they ran their sex business. Advertisements were placed on sex sites, appointments were arranged, they were picked up and delivered and they pocketed most of the proceeds. She also painted a picture of Ertugul as a lover boy who abused Sanne and also used her as a prostitute.
Justice therefore sees Ertugul as the main suspect and Sanne as a co-suspect, but also somewhat as a victim. He only wanted to make quick money on the backs of the women, who were often also in love with him, the officer believed. She therefore demanded 42 months in prison for Ertugul plus six months probation. Sanne S. was sentenced to thirty months in prison plus six conditionally.
Because Sanne is free, the officer demanded that she come to the verdict on February 2. If she is convicted, she will immediately be taken to jail.
Sanne S. couldn’t believe her ears. She really does not recognize the image that she participated in forced prostitution. Her lawyer and Ertugul’s lawyer took a completely different approach: they argued for an acquittal or a much lower sentence, because there was no forced sex and exploitation at all.
The verdict in this case is on February 2.