Couple forced women into prostitution and spent earnings on ‘lavish lifestyle’

A couple who trafficked women from Europe and forced them into prostitution spent their earnings on a ‘lavish lifestyle’ after duping the young women.

Polish nationals Wieslaw Michniewicz, 53, and his wife, Aleksandra Timoszek, 32, invited young women to the UK with the promise of legitimate work before using them as prostitutes.

Michniewicz and Timoszek, who lived on Willow Avenue, Burley, targeted vulnerable women, predominantly from Poland, promising them jobs as childminders or at local shops.

But when the victims arrived in the UK, they were told they had a debt to pay off and were forced into sex work.

The youngest victim was brought to the UK aged 17 and was put to work in a brothel the day after her 18th birthday.

The women were forced to work up to 20 hours a day, seven days a week, providing sexual services.

All the money they earned was handed directly to the couple who lived a lavish lifestyle on the profits, driving expensive sports cars, the court heard.

The pair were assisted by Michniewicz’s cousin, Mariusz Seretny, and wife, Marta Seretny, who were living at Grange Close, Hunslet, and were found to have had a supporting role in prostituting the women.

After a decade-long investigation from West Yorkshire Police, officers arrested the couple at their home address on September 14, 2016, on suspicion of offences relating to modern slavery.

Several women were found at the address, and three luxury sports cars – a Porsche Panamera, a Porsche Carrera and an Audi R8 – were also seized from the couple, along with £16,000 cash.

Analysis of handwritten ledgers recovered from a safe showed that prostitution of the victims had generated about £170,000, with details of the sizeable debts each victim faced.

Three defendants were found guilty of modern slavery and controlling prostitution offences and jailed for a total of 27.5 years between them at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.

During the investigation, officers identified 14 victims, aged between 17 and 31, who had been targeted.

Women considered unsuitable on arrival in the UK were sent back to Poland, and another had become suspicious and refused to travel to the UK.

Receipts from the Willow Avenue address showed large sums of money being transferred out of the country, and CCTV footage from the house showed the victims being driven off by Michniewicz and Timoszek daily.

Throughout the investigation, detectives maintained contact with the victims, many of whom returned to Poland following the arrests of Michniewicz and Timoszek.

Through a joint investigation team facilitated by Europol, cops were able to safeguard and support the victims in Poland and use specially trained officers to secure their evidence.

The four defendants were charged with modern slavery and controlling prostitution offences in February 2023, but both Michniewicz and Timoszek fled the country.

The pair were traced by officers and extradited back to the UK and remanded in custody until their trial, which began at Leeds Crown Court in November 2025.

The jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts against all four defendants on December 18, 2025.

Michniewicz was sentenced to 15 years’ jail, with Timoszek given a term of seven-and-a-half years.

Mariusz Seretny, 45, was jailed for five years, and 41-year-old Marta Seretny was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work and five rehabilitation days.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Helen Steele said: ‘Modern slavery offences are truly abhorrent, and we remain absolutely committed to doing everything we can to target those involved.

‘This is a crime that is often hidden in plain sight, and we would urge members of the public to report any suspicions they have that this type of exploitation is taking place to us immediately.’

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