Nualpenyai, R v

Sentencing guidelines for trafficking for sexual exploitation and controlling prostitution for gain must be applied to the circumstances of the offending as a whole. The absence of coercion in a victim's decision to travel to the United Kingdom does not remove the seriousness of trafficking where the offender intended from the outset to exploit vulnerable women through substantial alleged debts and control over their earnings. Mental coercion after arrival, including retention of passports, remains material. A sentence should reflect the exploitation of multiple victims, while allowing appropriate credit for a late guilty plea and personal mitigation.

The applicant pleaded guilty at the Crown Court at Croydon to two offences of trafficking for sexual exploitation, two offences of controlling prostitution for gain, and drug-possession offences. She had arranged for two women to come from Thailand to work as prostitutes, imposed large debts, retained their passports, required them to work extensively, and took their earnings.

She received concurrent sentences, producing a total of six and a half years' imprisonment. She renewed her application for leave to appeal sentence, contending that the sentence exceeded the relevant Sentencing Guidelines Council ranges and gave insufficient credit for her guilty pleas and personal mitigation.

1. Appeal allowed. The court granted leave and treated the matter as the hearing of the appeal. It quashed the concurrent sentences of six and a half years imposed for trafficking for sexual exploitation and substituted concurrent sentences of five years. The remaining concurrent sentences were unchanged. The total sentence was therefore reduced from six and a half years to five years.
2. The judge was entitled to assess together the overall seriousness of the trafficking and controlling-prostitution offences and to impose concurrent sentences. The exploitation of the two women for financial gain was highly serious and was relevant to each group of offences.
3. The guidelines distinguished between cases involving coercion and those without it. Although neither woman had been coerced into travelling to England to work as a prostitute, each had been deceived about the financial burden and was subjected to mental coercion after arrival. Their vulnerability, lack of practical choice and the retention of their passports demonstrated the applicant's control. Coercion was primarily relevant to the controlling-prostitution offences, for which the guideline penalties were lower.
4. For the trafficking offences, the significant feature was the applicant's intention, when arranging the women's travel, to exploit them in that manner. The exploitation and coercion of two victims made the case grave, but an eight-year starting point was too high within the guideline framework. A starting point between six and six and a half years was appropriate. The late guilty pleas and personal mitigation justified reduction to five years.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Allowed the renewed appeal against sentence and substituted concurrent five-year sentences for the trafficking offences.
• Crown Court at Croydon: On 24 July 2009, imposed concurrent sentences producing a total of six and a half years' imprisonment following guilty pleas.