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<\/p>\nA man who trafficked a 17-year-old girl from Indonesia to Australia for sex work will spend up to six years and five months in jail, after a Sydney judge found he had demonstrated no genuine remorse.<\/p>\n
Surya Subekti was today handed a non-parole period of four years and five months in the NSW District Court and told his earliest release date is November 2030, before being taken into custody.<\/p>\n
The 45-year-old pleaded guilty to two charges, including organising the entry of a person under the age of 18 into Australia with the intention of providing sexual services, and causing a person under 18 to engage in forced labour.<\/p>\n
Subekti’s charges carried maximum penalties of 25 years and 12 years, respectively.<\/p>\n
His lawyers had argued the victim travelled to Australia voluntarily, knowing the contractual obligations, and was above the age of consent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Judge Nicole Noman\u00a0found Subekti demonstrated no genuine remorse. (ABC News: Adriane Reardon)<\/p>\n
Victim instructed to lie about age<\/p>\n
Judge Nicole Noman noted the victim was a child under Australian law, and the age of consent for sex work is 18.<\/p>\n
That meant her ability to enter into a contractual obligation and consent to selling sexual services would not be regarded as informed consent, the judge said.<\/p>\n
Subekti knew the victim was 17 and provided instructions about how to avoid her age being detected.<\/p>\n
He was “instrumental” in the teenager being trafficked, helping organise the contract, the visa, the transport and her attendance at nominated brothels for about two months.<\/p>\n
“The victim was entirely dependent on the arrangements made for her,” Judge Noman said, noting the teenager would have been isolated in a foreign country without support.<\/p>\n
‘Full financial control’<\/p>\n
According to the agreed facts, Subekti was informed about the victim by “associates in Indonesia” and knew her visa was based on material that included “materially false information”.<\/p>\n
This included that she was “the child of an unrelated adult woman”.<\/p>\n
The victim arrived in January 2021 and remained in forced labour at Sydney brothels as Subekti assumed or facilitated “full financial control” over her income, according to the facts.<\/p>\n
He also controlled when and where to move her, and was a decision-maker or at least a participant in creating a contract which demanded she work for up to 12 hours a day.<\/p>\n
Wanted to be known as ‘Batman’<\/p>\n
Subekti’s co-offender, driver Elton Valentino, admitted to one count of facilitating the transport of a person under 18 to provide sexual services, which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years.<\/p>\n
He told police that Subekti instructed him to not disclose Subekti’s real name to women he transported and refer only to Subekti as “Batman”.<\/p>\n
Valentino, 32, was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail with a minimum of one year and 10 months for transporting the victim around for shifts.<\/p>\n
The court heard that when speaking to a psychologist, Subekti claimed he was “reluctant” to be involved in the trafficking, but the victim had been “insistent”.<\/p>\n
“This does not accord with the agreed facts,” the judge said, describing him as not a reliable historian.<\/p>\n
“I do not accept there to be genuine remorse for the conduct.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The court heard that Subekti, a father of three, maintained support from his family, who were unaware that he had a gambling problem.<\/p>\n