Madam is spared jail for brothel run at flat

A brothel madam whose girls sold sex from a flat in Bearwood walked free from court this afternoon after being given a suspended prison sentence.

Alketa Lekaj, aged 26, was said to have managed Bearwood Babes, which was advertised on the internet as a £100-per-hour massage parlour.

Police raided the property earlier this year and found Lekaj and four scantily-clad women on sofas, along with baby oil and towels, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

They were arrested along with a customer who walked in while police were still at the Bearwood Road brothel.

He told officers he regularly paid £60 for sex with one of the girls, who he knew as Linda. All the women, who were above the age of consent, admitted they were working as prostitutes in the first floor property.

Lekaj along with Matthew Shillam, aged 34, and both of Gillott Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to running a brothel.

The brothel only operated for three weeks. Total takings were around £1,500.

Shillam was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work in the community. Lekaj was given a six month sentence, also suspended for two years, and ordered to be supervised by probation officials for 12 months.