Prague Court Drops Pimping Case Linked to Sex.cz Website

The Prague Municipal Court last week dropped criminal proceedings in a pimping case connected to the sex-classifieds website Sex.cz. According to the court's ruling, what matters for classifying the offence is not whose money was used to pay for advertising on the site, but the purpose for which the funds were transferred to the company.

«If a person engaged in prostitution paid a fixed fee for placing an advertisement, that was payment for an advertising service. The mere fact that the funds may have come from previous prostitution does not turn the owner of the advertising platform into someone profiting from prostitution», the court's reasoning states.

The case has dragged on since 2023

The investigation began in 2023, when investigators from the National Organised Crime Agency charged the company and eight of its co-owners and employees with pimping and participation in an organised group as part of the "Marquis" case. According to police, the defendants abused their dominant position on the market. At the time, authorities seized assets worth 63 million crowns — real estate, a car, gold bars and bank accounts — and blocked more than 40 websites advertising sexual services.

Formal charges were announced last autumn, with the state prosecution seeking harsh prison sentences. Andrei Anastasov, founder of EOL.cz, was charged on twelve counts — he was the only defendant held in custody. Besides pimping, he was also accused of causing bodily harm and rape.

Court took the defendant's health into account

In July, the court decided to hear part of the charges against Anastasov separately, and later dropped the criminal proceedings against him due to serious health problems. According to available information, after his release he was hospitalised with a severe diagnosis.

The court's ruling also notes: «People offering sexual services could find clients through other means — via other internet portals, print advertising, personal contacts, or without any advertising at all». Thus, the defendants' activity was not a necessary condition for engaging in prostitution, but merely one of several possible ways for the advertisers themselves to promote their services.

The case was originally to be heard by the Prague 1 Circuit Court, but the Prague High Court transferred it to the Municipal Court this year due to the seriousness of the charges.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz