A Romanian prostitute who fled Scotland after being caught running a brothel in Aberdeen has been ordered to carry out unpaid work.
Gabriela Mateiu had previously been placed on a community payback order by a sheriff after admitted selling herself from an upmarket west end flat.
However, the 32-year-old only completed about half of her punishment before leaving the north-east to stay with friends abroad.
Yesterday, Mateiu appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court from custody after she was arrested at the city’s international airport trying to re-enter the country.
She admitted failing to complete 35 of the 100 hours of community service she had originally been ordered to do.
For more than six months, Mateiu and Ioana-Maria Urlea prostituted themselves from their home in Union Grove, advertising a range of “sexual services” online.
When the pair first appeared in court, fiscal depute Lynzi Souter said police raided the property on October 16 last year and found Mateiu with a client.
She said that when officers arrested the duo, they both admitted having sex for money.
Mrs Souter said Mateiu’s client was interviewed by police.
He told them that he had originally discovered her profile online offering a variety of sexual services for cash.
He said that he had about four or five encounters with Mateiu at her flat over a few weeks and would pay her £140 an hour.
Mrs Souter said that during those meetings Mateiu informed him that she had a 32-year-old flatmate who would also prostitute herself from their home.
The court also heard Mateiu had spoken to a friend in Glasgow, who informed her Aberdeen was a good place for foreign nationals to find work.
However, when she arrived in the city, because of her lack of rights as a Romanian, she found it difficult to find legitimate employment.
As a result, she felt there was no other option but to prostitute herself, the court heard.
Solicitor Alex Burn said the pair, of ground floor right, 286 Union Grove, decided to work from their flat as they felt it was safer.
Representing Mateiu yesterday, solicitor Laura Gracie said her client could not afford to live in Aberdeen after her last order was imposed, so she moved away.
The lawyer said her client was now prepared to carry out the remaining work and would stay in the city for as long as it took her to complete the order.
Sheriff Christopher Shead said he was not prepared to just grant her an extension of the order. Instead, he ordered her to carry out 50 hours in the next three months.