No jail term for man who ran a Sunderland brothel

Oct 28 2009 by Rob Kennedy, The Journal

A MAN who ran a brothel at a house on a North East street has been spared jail.

Asa Dobbing ran the den at a house in Sunderland and advertised for customers and prostitutes in a down-market national newspaper.

The brothel was rumbled when police responded to an advert for ‘Sunderland sexy girls’, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Now Dobbing, 29, has pleaded guilty to assisting in the management of the premises between March 28 and May 6 2007.

Judge Beatrice Bolton said she was satisfied the women who worked at the flat had not been exploited or corrupted.

The judge said: “These were working women who knew full well what they were getting into and voluntarily using the premises.

“There was absolutely no element of coercion, no element of corruption and the control simply amounted to a portion of their fee being kept for the use of the premises and even that was not collected in an aggressive way at all.

“One witness said she left your share in the fridge.

“The women inside clearly were volunteers, felt safe in the premises and there was no corruption.”