Brothel manager could lose home

Stephen O'Callaghan, 47, ran brothels at 15 Waterloo Street and 37 Lower Market Street, Hove, called Top To Toe and Angels Delight.

He was caught after a policewoman posed as a receptionist in a massage parlour, used as a front for the business.

Hove Crown Court heard the parlours charged customers up to £45 for a "full, unhurried personal service".

The undercover officer told a jury that O'Callaghan answered the phone and gave details of the girls available to clients.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, she described him as "obviously the boss" and said he had the key to a drawer containing cash.

She said he would try to persuade her to become a working girl, claiming she could earn £1,500 a week.

She would take money from the girls and ensure that clients did not run over the allotted time.

O'Callaghan's girlfriend Deborah Hughes, 42, of Maresfield Road, Brighton, was responsible for banking the girls' takings, the court heard.

The pair moved the money out of the country to avoid it being confiscated.

O'Callaghan would give Hughes cash in exchange for blank cheques he would then cash in Spain.

A police raid on her home was said to have revealed Spanish bank details and a list of girls.

O'Callaghan initially denied living off immoral earnings but pleaded guilty halfway through his trial.

The jury found O'Callaghan guilty of removing the proceeds of criminal conduct from the jurisdiction by using profits from the brothels to renovate his Spanish villa, a charge he denied.

They also found Hughes guilty of assisting another to retain the benefit of criminal conduct by allowing O'Callaghan to use her bank account, an allegation she had denied.

Judge Charles Kemp adjourned the sentencing of the pair for two months while investigations are made into O'Callaghan's finances.

He now faces losing assets including two properties in Brighton after prosecutors decided to pursue a confiscation order in relation to the proceeds from his brothels.