As a result of a complaint filed with the National Migration Office of Mar del Plata, the authorities realized a list of addresses in which foreign citizens could be found sexually exploited.
The authorities found that the house located on the street Berutti N , is a brothel where most of the women were foreign and sexually exploited and the males pay for their services. In addition, the brothel published telephone numbers to contact the women and a website where the costumer can watch the pictures of the victims like products offering sex. It was proved that the respondent received and welcomed the victims at brothel: 1 prior to August 27, to M.
Also, the investigation showed the different roles assumed by the respondents to carry out the illegal exploitation. They knew the vulnerable situation in which the victims lived and need the money to pay the expenses of their children. La investigaciones realizadas demostraron que en el domicilio ubicado en calle Berutti Nro. Moreover, the judge defined that sexual exploitation promotes, facilitates, develops or obtains financial gain from the sex trade.
In prostitution, victims are traded in exchange for payment to benefit the traffickers. The judge made clear that the current law is erroneous in determining that the consent of the victim cannot criminalize the offense of trafficking but rather fits the crime of pimping or fails to comply with immigration laws.
The Court referred to the interpretative notes of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol, that pointed out " Lopez, in which the authors pointed out that in this type of crime, victims were treated as sexual commodities in which their consent shall not be considered since they are in a situation of exploitation. Therefore, it is wrong to accept that a victim is in a better position since in his actual situation, it is impossible to fully exercise his autonomy.
