A CONSTRUCTION worker has walked free from court after admitting exploiting a teenage prostitute who worked from a flat in Orford.

Damian Maciejczyk acted as a 'pimp' to a 19-year-old Polish woman, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday morning.

On the first day of a trial due to last all week, the court heard that the woman first arrived in the UK last year and was working as a prostitute in the Birmingham area when she met the 31-year-old defendant through a mutual contact.

Maciejczyk, who was aided by a Polish interpreter during court proceedings, persuaded her to move to Warrington to 'work for him' and paid to advertise her services on classified website Vivastreet.

Warrington Guardian:

Having initially worked from Maciejczyk's home on Fairbrother Crescent - where he lived with his girlfriend - the defendant then paid to rent a flat on Greenings Court to be used by the complainant as a brothel.

After seeing the online adverts, men would contact Maciejczyk, who would then inform the woman that they would be visiting her and would sometimes tell the complainant what to wear.

On occasions, he would drive the woman to clients' houses and once also took her to Blackpool in order to work as a prostitute in the seaside town for a week.

READ: Man appears in court accused of murdering Declan Bunting on Wilderspool Causeway

In November, Maciejczyk was pulled over by police in the West Midlands while driving his Mercedes late at night.

After finding a number of suspicious texts on one of three mobile phones found in the car, officers were led to the brothel - which was largely empty aside from a large number of condoms, and where they found the complainant.

She told police that she was 'frightened of the defendant' and 'didn't feel safe in the flat anymore'.

Day later, she attended Warrington Police Station to report that she was being exploited by Maciejczyk.

Prosecuting barrister Myles Wilson told the court: "As time went on, she became wary of the defendant and his temper.

"She wanted to leave him but was worried what would happen if she did.

"The defendant was clearly controlling her for the purposes of prostitution.

"This woman was being exploited - she was handing over at least half of her earnings to him, and she was frightened of the defendant.

"His defence is that he wasn't controlling her for prostitution and that he was instead assisting and helping her, but he was doing far more that that.

"The defendant was in control - he was pulling the strings."

Maciejczyk, who appeared with short black hair and was wearing a grey shirt, had denied charges of controlling prostitution for gain and arranging the travel of a person with a view to exploitation between June and December last year.

But, on Monday afternoon, he admitted a lesser charge of living on prostitution and was jailed for four months by his honour judge Steven Everett.

As the defendant had been held on remand in prison since he was arrested, he was allowed to walk free from court.

Maciejczyk was also ordered to serve a community order and to pay a victim surcharge.