Romanian escort was paid €300 for sex, accused 'almost pulled her hair off' during beating

A Romanian call girl who had her “hair almost pulled out while being forced into prostituting herself by her former boyfriend,” has today claimed in court that she used to earn €300 for half an hour of sex and dinner.

The remark was made this morning by Mariaco Daresco during the compilation of evidence against 25-year-old Romanian Alexandru Onofrei (Alex), who is pleading not guilty to living off the earnings of prostitution, to running a brothel, to prostituting and holding ex-girlfriends Pilaf Anisoara and Mariaca Daresco against their will, and to the human trafficking of Anisoara.

Daresco’s evidence comes two days after Anisoara testified before the court. In her testimony, Anisoara claimed that the accused “forced” her into prostitution. She also said that she used to receive €80 for 30 minutes of sex, and in turn the accused would take a 40% cut.

Taking the witness stand, Daresco, who up until a few weeks ago used to date the accused, told the court that upon arriving in Malta, she started working as a “pole-dancer” at a gentleman’s club in Paceville but was adamant that at this time, she was not involved in prostitution.

“Upon arriving in Malta, everything was going well but then Alex started threatening me, forcing me into prostitution. He became a dangerous man, my life became a nightmare,” she said.

Despite “refusing to prostitute herself,” the witness said that she eventually allowed the accused to take intimate photos of her, which were eventually uploaded on Escort-Europe.com. The website offers escort services in Malta and provides quotes, time and options for various sexual services for potential clients.

“Alex started hitting me and almost pulled my hair out in order to agree to take the photos. Alex then uploaded them on the website,” she said.

“I used to speak to clients personally, and I normally told them I was busy ... except for three men: two Italians and a Turk. I first them met for dinner at a hotel near Dragonara Casino and then had sex afterwards.”

 “We spent two hours in total, one-a-half hours for dinner, and a half hour having sex. I was always paid €300, and on one occasion I asked for a further €40 for the taxi,” she said.

The witness later added that she used to meet with the clients at the Hilton hotel and Westin Dragonara in St Julians.

Moreover, she said that whenever she met with clients, Onofrei drove her to the client and back to Qormi. Daresco said that she then gave the accused all the money.

Cross-examined by defence lawyer Martin Fenech, the witness said she never had sex at the apartment in San Gwann, refuting suggestions that she “was like her fellow victim, Pilaf Anisoara.”

Moreover, she admitted that despite being “threatened and beaten up by the accused,” she could have escaped or called the police because she had access to mobile phones.

“I never tried to escape. If you were in my shoes, you would not even try to escape. He [the accused] is a very dangerous man, he is not a joke,” she said.

The court also heard that the case was brought to light after police were called in following a report of a fight between the accused and Daresco.

Meanwhile, the court, presided by Magistrate Ian Farrugia denied the defence’s request for bail and also froze the accused’s assets. In its decree, the court held that the accused should not be granted bail due to fear of absconding.

The court also ordered the accused not to approach the witnesses and their relatives.

Inspector Sylvana Briffa is leading the prosecution while Lawyer Martin Fenech represented the accused.

The case continues.