Husband sentenced to 9 months in British jail for pimping wife, others

Daily Mail [UK]
By Dan Newling and Arthur Martin
Last updated at 4:15 PM on 07th July 2009

A school games master was jailed for nine months today after pleading guilty to running a brothel. Tim Blake-Bowell, 47, a teacher at King Ethelbert School in Birchington, near Margate, Kent, had admitted a charge of controlling prostitutes for financial gain at a previous hearing at Canterbury Crown Court.

His ex-wife Emma, 37, also pleaded guilty to the charge, but was given a nine month suspended sentence today as the judge said she had been susceptible to pressure from her husband due to her vulnerable mental health.

By day, Blake-Bowell was a dedicated teacher at the rural comprehensive, where he was fanatical about hockey and cricket. By night, he sold his body and managed a team of six other prostitutes - including his wife - from a rented flat in Canterbury.

The court heard that Blake-Bowell was responsible for the financial side of the brothel, variously named Gem's, Pandora's and Men for all Seasons, paying the six women they employed and taking care of bills and rent.

His wife, who had herself worked as an escort in the city since 2004, was in charge of the day-to-day running of the business. She acted as a receptionist, worked out the girls' rotas, introduced them to clients and also prostituted herself.

The couple, who have two young children, split up after their arrest in December 2007.
Sentencing the pair today, Judge Adele Williams said: 'You Timothy Blake-Bowell rented a flat at 21 Henry Court, Gordon Road, in Canterbury.

'From the address, six prostitutes including your wife and co-defendant offered sexual activity for money. You and your wife controlled these prostitutes. You placed advertisements in papers and rotas were organised. You and your wife took approximately 40 per cent of their earnings.
This was organised prostitution which is a criminal offence. I accept that there is no evidence of coercion or corruption and there were no illegal immigrants or underage girls, but you did this for money.'

'Your overheads were approximately £2,000 a month and in my judgment you would not have continued with this enterprise unless you were making a profit.'

Alistair Walker, prosecuting, earlier described how Blake-Bowell offered clients 'personal services by male and females for men, women and couples of all persuasions'.

Mr Walker told the court: 'Blake-Bowell organised and paid for advertisements in the press, took bookings, organised rotas and took a share of earnings. In his hands-on position as owner of the business he was in a position to direct operations at close quarters. He helped come up with the advertising strap lines and was responsible for the financial side of the business. He was aware of which girls were working and when.

He drove them home after their shifts and he told them what they should say when talking to clients over the phone.'

Blake-Bowell, 47, paid £560 a month to rent the Canterbury flat and spent another £1,400 a month on advertising. The brothel was staffed from 11am until midnight with the women charging £40 for a massage, £60 for 30 minutes of sex and £100 for a full hour.

The court was told in mitigation that the women were allowed to keep 60 per cent of their takings rather than the 50 per cent rate normal in brothels in the area. Although the Blake-Bowells used only willing British women, their operation was uncovered during a Kent Police probe into illegal sex-trafficking from Eastern Europe.

The court heard that during a raid on the flat in November 2007 officers spoke to a woman calling herself 'Lorna Larouche'. While the flat contained nothing that indicated that anyone lived there permanently, it was filled with underwear, sex toys and massage oils. During a subsequent undercover operation a vice squad officer named in court as Steve posed as a client and was offered sex by a woman at the property. Steve declined and instead had a massage, the court heard.

In court, Emma, 37, who has two more children by a previous husband, was described as a working prostitute who called herself 'Brandy'. She was also the brothel's 'meeter and greeter'.
In police interviews she admitted that she had been involved in running the operation, explaining that she had decided to take a more managerial role as she was 'fed up with being abused'.

While selling your body for money is not illegal in England, profiting from prostitution is.
Shortly after his arrest in December 2007, Blake-Bowell lost his job at 700-pupil King Ethelbert although he was allowed to stay on until the end of term. He has taken up taxi driving.

At the time, school sources said they were astonished at his involvement, with one mother describing the sports master as a 'model teacher'. Blake-Bowell shed tears as a statement from his former headmaster was read out describing him as a 'valued and trusted colleague' who had shown 'unstinting commitment to those pupils in his pastoral care'.

His lawyer offered no insight into why he turned to vice other than to say: 'He is horrified by his situation and what he has done.'

The court also heard that his estranged wife, who since the age of 16 has never worked as anything other than a prostitute, suffered an abusive childhood and a violent relationship with her former partner. She met her current husband while living in a women's refuge in Canterbury and had two more children with him.

Their marriage was not a success either, but she 'simply didn't have the strength to leave him', her lawyer, Deborah Charles, said.

Addressing Emma Blake-Bowell, Judge Williams said: 'I have come to the conclusion that you remained in what was for you a destructive relationship with your co-defendant, and you were unable to resist at the suggestion of your husband, to engage in destructive sexual behaviour.'
She added that pre-sentencing assessments on the defendant had found that she suffered from clinical depression and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder due to her difficult background.

Giving her a nine-month sentence suspended for two years, the judge added that she must also carry out a two-year supervision order in which she must seek treatment, as well as a three-month curfew order. She said: 'If you don't get help now then the cycle will begin again and you will no doubt breach your order and you will come back in front of me.'

Blake-Bowell did not show any emotion as he was led away from the dock. He was suspended from his post at King Ethelbert School, a mixed comprehensive, following his arrest and is now no longer employed there.