Man indicted in Israel for sex trafficking

State prosecution in Israel has filed an indictment against Leonid Turkin, 52, for sex trafficking. It is alleged that in 2004 Turkin formed a gang to traffic women from Ukraine to force them into prostitution in Israel. The case is base on the testimony of one of his alleged victims. Turkin is charged with bringing a woman called Oksana to Tel Aviv and forcing her to work as a prostitute. Her earnings were taken from her for the first two weeks, after which she received 25% of her earnings to pay for rent and other personal expenses. She was allegedly forced to work from 11am to 4am every day. She claims that after two months she asked for a day off, but instead was refused permission to even leave the apartment. It is alleged that when she refused to obey Turkin she was moved to another apartment in Ashdod and forced to continue her life of sexual slavery. It is also alleged that Turkin posted nude pictures of Oksana on a website.
Turkin is charged with seven offences including conspiring to commit a crime, human trafficking for purposes of prostitution, pimping, violating the privacy of others and housing and driving an illegal resident.
MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz-Yahad), who heads the Knesset’s Parliamentary Subcommittee on the Trafficking of Women, estimated in a recent report that between 3,000 and 5,000 women have been sold as sex slaves in Israel in the past four years.