TWO men have been found guilty of trafficking a woman and forcing her to work as a prostitute in an ordeal lasting 11 days.

The victim called police in a distressed state on the morning of Saturday, June 13, 2009 claiming she was being held against her will at a house in Whitworth Road, Pinehurst.

Officers were dispatched to the address and found the 30-year-old woman, who said she had only entered the UK from Poland on June 2, 2009 and since arriving at the address had been forced to work as a prostitute.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also said she had been the victim of a number of sexual assaults during her 11-day stay in the country.

During the raid on the house police apprehended Tomasz Sebastian Slabaszewski on suspicion of false imprisonment and took the woman for medical treatment to Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The following day, June 14, 2009, officers arrested Jacek Stanislaw Sokolowski on suspicion of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and rape.

Slabaszewski, 32, of Victoria Road, appeared before Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday accused of trafficking a person with intent to cause her to work as a prostitute and controlling or inciting a person to work as a prostitute for financial gain.

His associate, Sokolowski, 43, of Ascham Road, Grange Park also appeared before the court charged with trafficking a person with intent to cause her to work as a prostitute, controlling or inciting a person to work as a prostitute for financial gain and an additional count of rape.

Both men have been found guilty and will appear before Swindon Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.

Detective Constable Ed Russell, the officer in charge of the case, said: “We are pleased with the verdict of the court and hope that this result is of some comfort to the victim.

“She put her trust in these two men and they abused that trust in the worst way imaginable.

“The 11 days that she spent in that house was an extremely frightening and distressing experience for her and I would like to take this opportunity to commend her for her bravery in alerting police and helping us to bring these two men to justice.”

Detective Inspector Jim Taylor added: “This was a quite difficult, complex investigation. She was certainly held against her will under the threat of violence.

“The conditions we found her in were shocking – really hideous. She was kept and made to work under horrendous conditions and she feared for her safety.

“This kind of crime is very rare in Swindon and anything like it, if we hear of it, then we are all over it.”