Judge praises women for running 'model' brothel

A British judge has praised two women who ran a brothel, saying it was a "model" for how such a business should be run if it was ever legalised.

Monika Campbell and Lisa Gaskin ran the brothel under the guise of a luxury massage parlour from March 2005 to September last year.

They meticulously ran the brothel by keeping proper accounts, paying income tax and arranging for health advice and condoms for the women using the premises, Leeds Crown Court was told Wednesday.

Judge Scott Wolstenholme said that there was no nuisance to the public and if brothels were ever legalised "it may be the way you were running this business may be the model of how it should be done", The Telegraph reported Friday.

But, he went on to add: "The fact is, it is illegal. Parliament has not legalised brothel keeping. You knew it was illegal but carried on making a good living out of it and here you are now in the crown court."

Campbell and Gaskin admitted to running the brothel where sex workers worked willingly and no drink or drugs were found.

They were given a 12-month community order with 50 hours unpaid work.