Prostitutes describe brothel keeper as ‘second mother’

Two Hungarian women working as prostitutes in Ireland described their brothel keeper as a “second mother” and a friend, a court has heard.

Diana Karacsony, aged 32, was ordered to pay €10,000 to Ruhama, a charity working with women affected by prostitution, after admitting her role in managing a brothel.

The Hungarian national pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assisting in keeping and managing a brothel in an apartment at The Asgard, Custom House Harbour, Dublin 1, on dates between January 1, 2011, and May 30, 2012.

Detective Garda David Kenny told Diarmaid Collins, prosecuting, there was no evidence that any of the 25 Hungarian women gardaí believed to have been working out of the brothel as prostitutes were trafficked, coerced, or “anything other than willing”.

He agreed that “the operation was run in a very professional manner”. The accused took 40% of the hourly rates charged by the women.

One of the prostitutes said she came to Ireland from Hungary to work for short periods. After one 14-day period she said she was able to send €5,000 home to support her family and her studies.

She said the accused worked hard cooking and cleaning and that the prostitutes viewed Karacsony as their “second mother”.

Judge Catherine Murphy suspended a two-year jail sentence on condition Karacsony, who now resides in Budapest, pay the donation to Ruhama immediately.