Prostitute says she was ‘treated like a sex slave’ by brothel owners

Three prostitutes say 60-year-old Theresa Cutajar demanded a commission for every client they had sex with inside Cutajar’s home in Testaferrata Street.

A woman working as a prostitute at a married couple’s home in Testaferrata Street has told the court that she was “treated like a sex slave,” despite paying €5 for every person she had sex with.

The remark was made this afternoon during the compilation of evidence against Theresa Cutajar, 60, and her husband, 25-year-old Elmleti Mohamed Saad. The married couple are pleading not guilty to running a brothel in Ta’ Xbiex, of living off the earnings of prostitution, and of loitering. The two have been denied bail, and are currently being remanded in custody

Taking the witness stand, Marie Louise Magro, from Gzira, told the court that after falling on hard times, she started to prostitute herself at Theresa Cutajar’s home.

“At first everything seemed fine, Theresa offered me a bed and even cooked for me, but after some weeks she started insulted me, while her husband would threaten me. She would charge me exaggerated prices for everything; she asked me €30 in return for my clothes, and €5 for condoms. Theresa always demanded €5 for every man I slept with.”

“I used to live, carry out my trade and sleep in the same room. I even had to ask permission to go to the bathroom, I was practically a sex slave,” Magro told the court.

Asked whether she was forced into prostitution, Magro told the court that she had started her trade out of her own free will, and that her income ranged from €30 a day to €300.

“After some time, Theresa started demanding money and I was threatened if I didn’t pay up. Whenever Theresa wasn’t at home, her husband [Mohamed] would stay on the lookout to see how many men were entering,” she said.

On her part, Spiridiona Cutajar – a “housewife” who on August 8, was conditionally discharged after admitting to prostituting herself and running a brothel in Gzira – told the court that in exchange for every client, she paid Theresa Cutajar  €5.

“Theresa and I had agreed that I would use her home for four hours. In exchange, I paid €5 to Theresa for every client I had sex with. Initially, I was told not to tell anyone about the €5,” she said.

Asked whether she was coerced into prostitution, or whether Theresa Cutajar had ever solicited her clients, she insisted that the clients used to come out of their own free will and that she would pick clients, claiming that “blacks were never allowed in.”

Testifying, Lucienne Mallia, also a prostitute, told the court that both Theresa Cutajar and her husband treated her badly, while Cutajar always pressed her for rent money.

“I was working at Theresa’s flat in exchange for €20 a day. As soon as she saw a client come in, she would start ringing the bell and demanding money, and she always wanted a commission.”

“I could not keep up with the expenses and she once even charged me €5 for some condoms. On one occasion, she insulted me and pulled my dress up in front of a petrol station in Gzira and kept harrying me for money,” she said.

Inspector Jason Francis Sultana is prosecuting, while Magistrate Doreen Clarke is presiding.

The case continues.