Escort Arranged For Minor To Sleep With Over 30 Men To Pay Back $130 Debt: Prosecutors

A 16-year-old girl in England was forced into prostitution to pay off her debt to a woman who turned out to be an escort who was selling sex, prosecutors said.

The escort, identified as 23-year-old Tyler-Jo Walker, told the unnamed 16-year-old that she would have to sleep with multiple strangers to pay back the £100 ($131) she owed her, leaving the victim feeling she "couldn't say no," Chronicle Live reported, citing prosecutors.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the teenager slept with more than 30 men in two weeks for money, at a rate of around £80 ($105) per half an hour.

Walker took £700 ($918) of the earnings, while the teen kept around £3,000 ($3,934).

Walker, who has addresses in Newcastle and Middlesbrough and has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to causing or inciting prostitution for gain.

She was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements and 120 hours of unpaid work, Daily Mail reported.

The teenager had met Walker in a park, and they got to know each other, the court heard. It was not clear when exactly this happened.

On one occasion, Walker paid £47 ($62) for the girl to ride a taxi to an address where she was in Sunderland. The teenager, who thought Walker worked in an office, was then shocked when the woman answered the door wearing only underwear, prosecutor Sue Hirst told the court.

When the girl asked what Walker was doing, the woman said she was an escort, according to the prosecutor. Walker then told the teen that she now owed her £100 for the taxi and other items she bought.

"[Walker] asked for the money back, and she said she got her benefits on a Thursday. The defendant was not willing to wait and events took a more sinister turn, and she told [the teen] she would have to have sex with men to pay the money back," the prosecutor said.

Hirst continued, "[The teen] felt she couldn't say no as the defendant was determined this would have to happen. She made her pose in underwear and took pictures of her. (She) was unhappy and asked her to delete them but the defendant refused."

Walker arranged for men to sleep with the victim over the next two weeks. The minor said that at one point, she was forced to sleep with around 17 men in one day.

It was later uncovered because the girl didn't realize her mobile phone was linked to an iPad at her mother's house.

The minor's mother saw messages from Walker saying, "When you get there, make sure you charge him for the taxi," and telling the teenage girl what to do with clients and encouraging her to work hard.

A lawyer for Walker said the escort was not aware that the girl was 16 at the time and had thought that she "was helping someone who wanted to do the same work."

The lawyer also said her client suffers from mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Judge Robert Spragg said the offenses had a "significant impact" on the victim, adding: "She has found it difficult to get on with her life as she often finds herself thinking about it, is embarrassed about it and no doubt it will have a long-lasting effect on a girl who was already troubled."

The judge said help and intervention will help Walker "get away" from the sex industry.