An Estonian pimp who turned illegal immigrants into sex workers at his Brighton massage parlor got the maximum 41-month federal prison sentence
Published:
29 November 2004 y., Monday
An Estonian pimp who turned illegal immigrants into sex workers at his Brighton massage parlor got the maximum 41-month federal prison sentence yesterday from an irate judge.
Roman Valdma, 38, who became a U.S. citizen 14 years ago, sheepishly told the judge, ``I'm sorry for what I've done. I'm ready to face the consequences,'' he said.
But Valdma said he never assaulted any of the seven women who came from Estonia and worked for him to pay off the cost of their airline tickets and phony visas.
The women, one as young as 20, performed erotic massage ``with a special ending,'' according to investigators. Both prosecutors and Valdma had sought a shorter sentence of 36 months.
Valdma's attorney Thomas J. Butters pointed to a transcript of the government's secretly taped conversation of Valdma talking to one woman as proof he never coerced her. When she asked how much work she would do, he replied, ``It is not slavery here! You do as much as you feel like.''
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