Woman held for ‘Internet prostitution’
A 30-year-old naturalized French woman, who allegedly solicited international clients from her Brussels base using a website, was yesterday being detained in Athens on charges of «prostitution via the Internet» after a policeman posing as a potential client invited her to Greece. It is the first such sting operation to be carried out by police in Greece. The woman, born in Ivory Coast, who has not been named, served clients in her Brussels home but would also offer to visit prospective clients in other countries if they agreed to cover her travel costs along with her fees, Attica police said. According to police, the woman’s website included revealing photographs of herself, her mobile telephone number and e-mail address, along with rates for her services, which ranged from 300 euros an hour to 2,100 euros for a full day for international clients; Brussels clients would be charged 200 euros an hour and 350 euros for two hours with the 30-year-old, police said. The alleged prostitute kept a diary on her website informing potential clients about her itinerary so that she could efficiently book appointments both at home and abroad, according to police, whose attention was attracted by an entry for January 12 and 13 stating: «Meet me in Athens.» A Greek policeman posing as a potential customer used the contact details provided on the website to book an appointment with the woman, who was arrested on January 4 when she arrived in Athens. Earlier this month, a 36-year-old Bulgarian prostitute who allegedly advertised her services over the Internet was arrested in an Athens hotel by a policeman posing as a prospective client. According to police, the unnamed woman had promoted herself as a high-class «escort» on her site, which included details of her services, costing as much as 30,000 euros.
