Taken from Melbourne's Herald Sun
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Brothel run to pay bills
THE madam of an illegal brothel wanted to "maintain a lifestyle" when she opened the inner-city business without a licence, a court heard yesterday. Carol Stewart, 60, set up the Melbourne Podiatry and Therapy Centre in 2005 when she fell on hard times after separating from her husband and needed money to support her children. Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard her employees were naked while they massaged and masturbated male clients and that the sex service would be included in their bills. Ms Stewart managed the centre between October last year and January, hiring staff, paying wages and organising rosters even though the Bourke St premises were listed as being owned by her son. Prosecutor Sen-Constable Justin Shaw said when Ms Stewart registered the business in February 2005 she gave a fake name to Consumer Affairs. Ms Stewart pleaded guilty to recklessly carrying out a prostitution business without a licence and producing a false document.
Defence lawyer Rob Melasecca said his client was a mature woman with no prior convictions and an excellent background who thought "this might be a suitable industry to maintain a lifestyle". He said she used a false name when registering the business because "she didn't want to be known by her friends and others as someone running that kind of massage". Mr Melasecca said Ms Stewart had been a model as well as an accomplished equestrian competitor in dressage and show jumping. He said she had wrongly believed that with other brothels operating in the area without a licence the city council would turn a blind eye to her business. Magistrate Duncan Reynolds said the offences were clearly serious but took into account that Ms Stewart had no criminal convictions. Ms Stewart was fined $3500 without conviction for operating without a licence and $500 for producing a false document.
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