A Melbourne brothel manager has narrowly avoided jail after allowing a child to work as a dominatrix, but will spend most of the next decade as a registered sex offender.
WARNING: This story contains details that may distress some readers.
Cheng Li, 35, has been sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a three-year community-based order after he pleaded guilty to receiving payment for sexual services provided by a child.
The victim was a 16-year-old girl who was living in state care and who ran away on the nights she was working.
She used the name "Pixie".
The crime occurred at the Heidelberg Angels brothel which was licensed by Li's mother and which he managed in 2019.
"You were the manager … as such you carried with you the considerable responsibility of ensuring that individuals who were employed to provide sexual services were adults," Judge Angela Ellis said.
"For whatever reason you chose to ignore that obligation.
"Putting it generously, you turned a blind eye and in doing so allowed a vulnerable 16-year-old child to participate in sex work for your financial reward."
Judge Ellis said the court had to send a message that that sort of offending would not be tolerated.
Teenager picked up from state care in rideshare cars
In 2019, Pixie answered a Facebook advertisement looking for an "assistant dominatrix" and was hired by an unknown man called "Mike".
The County Court heard she used white-out and a permanent marker to change her date of birth on a learner's permit and then sent a blurry photograph of the card, telling him that she was soon to turn 27.
Pixie later told investigators that when she went to the brothel for the first time, she did not have to fill out any paperwork.
"It was just sort of, 'Great you're willing to work. In you go'," she told police.
The girl was ferried back and forth from the brothel in an Uber — the cost of which was deducted from her pay.
The County Court heard that most of her work involved using whips or other toys and, on a number of occasions, clients paid to have sex with her.
The court heard she told anyone who asked that she was 27 years old.
In September 2019, investigators raided the brothel after receiving a tip and ultimately charged Li, who was the manager on duty.
Security footage seized by police show the teenager and Li together in the brothel on one occasion.
He later told investigators that he could not remember who Pixie was.
"You denied that the brothel employed any workers under the age of 18," the judge said.
The court heard the offending had had a profound impact on Pixie, whose real name cannot be revealed for legal reasons.
"The events haunt her and she experiences flashbacks," Judge Ellis said.
" [She] describes that the crime has affected her outlook on life and she feels hopeless for the future.
"[She] describes that every aspect of her life has been affected by the offending and fears that she may never heal."
Judge Ellis said the court had received letters of support including from Li's mother.
"According to your mother … your children mean everything to you," Judge Ellis said.
"She describes you as a devoted father and one who spends every spare moment with the children.
"I accept that this offending occurred on a single day and you are not to be sentenced for the conduct of others who actually hired [the victim]."
But the judge said that there was little evidence of remorse.
"I am troubled by the apparent lack of appreciation you have for the seriousness of your offending," she said.
"The remorse exhibited appears, arguably, to be in relation to the position in which you now find yourself."
Li, a father-of-two, was facing 15 years behind bars.
He was registered as a sex offender for eight years and fined $1,000.
He will have to perform 400 hours of unpaid work.
