Female police officer convicted for running prostitution ring with colleagues in Turkey’s south

ADANA

A female police officer in the southern Turkish province of Adana has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for running a prostitution ring with two of her colleagues and her sister.

Local media reported on Nov. 30 that the 38-year-old convict, identified only as A.D., was “connecting” two female police officers with local businessmen as part of a scheme for illegal prostitution.

All three female police officers were on duty at the Adana Courthouse at the time of the crime and A.D’s sister, who works as a teacher, was also involved in the ring as an unlicensed sex worker, the court said.

In one of the phone calls wiretapped by security forces, a local businessman was heard telling A.D. that he “wants a female cop,” the indictment said.

The suspect, who denied the charges and claimed that she was only “matchmaking” voluntarily, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for “encouraging, mediating or providing a place for prostitution.”

The execution of the prison sentence was postponed.

The other two police officers and the teacher were described in the court ruling as “victims,” although they suggested in their testimonies that they had willingly engaged in relationships without any commerical motive.

Prostitution in officially registered brothels, known as “general houses,” is legal in Turkey.

Illegal prostitution, on the other hand, is classified as operating a brothel without a license or being a sex worker without having health check-ups or a license, which are punishable with one year in prison.

There are also heavy jail sentences for human trafficking, coercion and related crimes.