Madam, – The investigation by Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent, into the extent and cruelty of TJ Carroll’s brothel network in Ireland (May 8th and 10th) helps to raise awareness here regarding the scale of exploitation of vulnerable women. What your paper describes as the “brutal and tragic lives” of those who fall victim to this cruelty is appalling.
It will come as news to many readers that this powerful network reached into so many towns and villages of Ireland.
Your paper draws attention to the international extent of the control exercised over those who fall into the clutches of this “business”. It is shocking to see evidence of the ability of this “vice empire” to maintain contact with traffickers abroad to the extent that they can threaten the families of the women who were brought to Ireland. Across thousands of miles, these terrorised families were forced to encourage the victims to continue to work until their “debts” to their captors were repaid.
The power of international gangs of traffickers is great. Their methodology is flexible enough to withstand careful legislation. Thus TJ Carroll, together with his wife and daughter, were not convicted of human trafficking, even though your research reveals that women were “effectively bonded into near slavery in brothels in 48 locations across Ireland”.
This type of lucrative exploitation is still carried on in apartments all over Ireland and is widely advertised on the internet. We need to ensure that the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act is rigorously enforced. – Yours, etc,