Teacher sentenced for running brothel

Comments  | 
Read all comments on this story.

A respected teacher had another job as a brothel keeper in Canterbury, a court heard.

Timothy Blake-Bowell had even worked as a prostitute himself as had his wife Emma (pictured below). Together they ran the brothel at 21 Henry Court, Gordon Road, Canterbury.

Both were arrested after police raided the flat and found various sex toys, women's underwear, dressing up outfits and massage oils.

The couple, of Querns Road, Canterbury, had rented the premises where six girls worked, and advertised in the adult sections of local press with strap lines such as Gems and Pandoras and Men for All Seasons.

They offered a contact number for discreet personal service by male or female, for men, women and couples of all persuasions. Prices were £40 for a massage, £60 for full intercourse for half an hour and £100 for an hour.

By December 2007, they had spent in excess of £15,000 on advertising alone.

They both admitted controlling prostitution for gain between October 30 and December 15, 2007. Mr Blake-Bowell was jailed for nine months. He was told by Judge Adele Williams, had he contested the matter, it would have been 12 months.

His wife was sentenced to 36 weeks suspended for two years with supervision. She will be under three months' curfew between 9pm and 7am with electronic tagging.

Prosecutor, Allister Walker, said Mr Blake-Bowell (pictured right), 47, signed a six months tenancy agreement in June 2006 paying £1,347 for the first month's rent, agreement fees and deposit and thereafter the monthly rental was £560. The landlord was unaware the flat was used for prostitution.

Mother of four Mrs Blake-Bowell, 37, had worked as a prostitute in Canterbury from at least September 2005 when she opened an account in the name of Brandy with a newspaper and worked as Brandy and Gem.

The Crown say from June 2006 she was the receptionist at Henry Court, managing the premises, acting as receptionist, drawing up the rota, taking calls and allocating clients. The couple took a percentage of the girls' earnings, thus exploiting prostitution, said Mr Walker.

Her husband worked as a teacher at King Ethelbert's School, Birchington and he came up with strap lines for the ads, owned the credit cards used to pay for the ads and was responsible for paying the rent and managing the financial side.

On November 14, an undercover officer called Steve rang the business number and spoke to Brandy - Emma Blake-Bowell - and made an appointment for a massage. She met him at the flat and took him to a bedroom where a woman called Suzy then came in and offered him sex.

She gave him a back and chest massage before he left.

The couple were arrested at home on December 13, 2007, and a handwritten shift rota was found in a drawer. In Tim Blake-Bowell's Renault Espace there was £250 in a nylon wallet.

He admitted they set up the premises and he managed the finances and it was set up to provide his wife with an income.

Monthly running costs were £780 with £1,400 on advertising, but he played down the amount of profit made. He said it was set up for his wife and other girls to work safely yet independently.

Mrs Blake-Bowell also said the operation wasn't very profitable and said the set-up was really a co-operative for girls working individually.

Mr Walker said there was no suggestion the women working from the flat did so against their will but said control could be exercised in different ways.

Oliver Saxby, for Mr Blake-Bowell, said it wasn't a large scale operation and stressed none of the women was compelled or coerced into working there.

He produced a reference from the Head Teacher at King Ethleberts, Carole Bailey, who said he showed an unstinting committment to pupils' pastoral care and was a valued and trusted colleague.

Anthony Jackson, head of year nine, said the accused was a good and well regarded teacher and the good use to which he put his talent was lost completely by the offence.

Mr Saxby asked the court to consider a suspended sentence with unpaid work saying he was horrified at the the situation he was in and at what he had done.

Deborah Charles, for Emma Blake-Bowell, said she had suffered sexual abuse as a child. She had escaped from an abusive relationship and was extremely vulnerable when she met her co-accused.

The severe stress she was under manifested inself in a skin condition and she had undergone counselling with more being necessary because she was severely traumatised.

There were financial difficulties and they entered the swinging scene, she seeing it as a way of hanging on to her husband if she went along with it. The marriage was now over.

She just picked up the phone if she happened to be at Henry Court.

Having had difficulties with a previous boss she wanted to give up this work but was persuaded by her husband, being told it would be a safe environment.

She didn't have the strength to leave him. It became the only job she thought she was worthy of doing, said Miss Charles.

The girls were all previously known to her and they kept sixty percent of their earnings.

Mrs Blake-Bowell's concern was for her children and if she kept her liberty she could undergo the recommended psychotherapy to finally address her problems.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Adele Willams said it was organised prostitution and although there was no evidence of coercion, corruption, use of illgal immigrants or under-age girls, it was done for money. "The overheads were about £2000 a month and you would not have continued unless you were making a profit."

She said there was an element of pressure by Timothy Blake-Bowell on his wife by reason of her particular history and particular circumstances. "I take into account this was a volatile relationship with each of you calling the police on occasions to deal with domestic violence situations."

Sentencing Mrs Blake-Bowell, Judge Williams said she had remained in a destructive relationship with her co-accused and was unable to resist suggestions he made to engage in destructive sexual behaviour and prostitution.

Her history of sexual abuse as a child and extremely violent relationship with a previous partner contributed to the situation.

She suffered a wide range of psysical and psychological problems - clinical depression and complex chronic post traumatic stress disorder and for those reasons the sentence could be suspended.

Mrs Blake-Bowell was warned to seek treatment for her problems or the cycle would begin again and she would be back before the court.

Tuesday, July 07 2009

The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.