Matthew James Markcrow accused of forcing women into illegal prostitution

A Brisbane man and woman have been charged over alleged unlawful prostitution, with police claiming women were tattooed, drugged and filmed in case described by a magistrate as ‘particularly sinister’.

A Brisbane man has been accused of forcing women to work as prostitutes, with police alleging they were branded with tattoos, drugged and not paid.

Matthew James Markcrow, 35, is facing charges of conducting a business involving servitude, conducting a business of unlawful prostitution and making recordings in breach of privacy.

The alleged sexual slavery and prostitution only came to light due to a tip off from a member of the community, police say.

Prostitution Enforcement Taskforce Detective Inspector Juliet Hancock said police had received information from a “concerned community member that at least four young women had [allegedly] been recruited, provided with drugs and illegally prostituted against their own will”.

“It’s only because a community member has come forward, concerned. So without that information, we may never have been able to uncover what was allegedly going on for these young women,” she said.

Matt Markcrow is accused of “conducting a business involving servitude”, appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday morning.

Legal aid lawyer Madeline Cohburn did not make an application for bail for the accused, who was on a return to prison warrant.

The accused mouthed the words ‘I love you’ to a young woman in the back of the court and made a heart symbol as he left the courtroom.

Brisbane Magistrate Steve Courtney adjourned the matter to February 24.

Markcrow’s co-accused Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23, also appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court.

She is facing charges of conducting a business of unlawful prostitution and contravene order under the Queensland Criminal Code

When police raided a property on Brisbane’s southside yesterday they found two young children, a court has heard.

Police prosecutor Sgt Mark Hughes said Markcrow, his co-accused Sawyer and three other women were also located.

Sawyer appeared in court this afternoon for a bail application which was opposed by police.

Mr Hughes said Sawyer told police that “she was like a mother “to the other girls in the house”.

Police observed the other girls followed her lead and she exercised a “degree of control” over them, he said.

Police allege she assisted in Markcrow in running the allegedly illegal prostituion business.

Magistrate Steve Courtney said the allegations against Markcrow had a “particularly sinister flavour”.

The court heard when she saw Markcrow in the holding cells at the watchouse she yelled ‘I’ll take care of everything for you’.

Sgt Hughes told the court police feared she would take over running the business if bailed.

“She is now the senior girl and exerts authority,” he said.

Sawyer has also been charged with allegedly failing to provide the passcode to her mobile phone and laptop, which was found in a unit connected to the alleged prostitution business.

Sgt Hughes told the court that Sawyer admitted to police she was in a relationship with Markcrow.

“When Sawyer was arrested and removed from the house she told the other girls not to leave the house and she would be back to look after them,” he said in court.

Police allege other women at the house were involved in the unlawful prostition business, with investigations ongoing.

Sawyer’s Legal Aid lawyer Lily Berkeley said the police opposition to bail affidavit “failed to provide any concrete evidence to say that she has been conducting in this business so far”.

The court heard Sawyer had previously been found guilty of engaging in prostitution through unlawful prostitution business. She received a $1200 fine with no conviction recorded.

Mr Courtney approved bail on the condition she no go within 100 metres of the house in Brisbane’s south, report twice a week to police and must not contact certain people including Markcrow.

Her matter was also adjourned until February 24.

Police allege the women involved, all Australian citizens, were approached by the alleged offender via social media.

Insp Hancock said the women were vulnerable due to their young age, and investigators believed several had come from broken family dynamics or had issues within their family unit.

She said in her 30 years of working as an officer, she’d never seen or heard anything that had shocked her as much as this investigation, and the allegation of the tattoo was particularly disturbing.

A woman bearing a tattoo saying she is the "Property of Matt M”. Picture: Facebook.

“It’s something that you see happening overseas,” Det Insp Hancock said

“It’s quite hard to shock police ... I’ve been a police officer for 30 years and I’ve not seen this type of allegations before.

Police allege the women were being transported from a suburban home to an apartment in inner Brisbane.

Police allege the apartment was where the young women were forced to work before being taken back to the suburban address.

The women did not have any financial independence and could not keep any of the money they earned, police claim.

According to Det Insp Hancock, some of the women may not have realised the severity of what had occurred, and may have been unaware they were being exploited.

“I gathered the opinion they (allegedly) may not know they were exploited, but when you work and don’t have ...your money, that’s exploitation,” Det Insp Hancock said.

“It would be, I think fair to say, some of these women (allegedly) don’t understand they’ve been exploited.

“And a couple of them yesterday were definitely very heavily under the influence of drugs so I don’t think they understood yesterday, when I was talking to them.”

Det Insp Hancock said this case was different to other prostitution investigations in Brisbane, as evidenced by the sexual servitude charge.

“This isn’t prostitution, this is young women [allegedly] being exploited and that is the confronting piece for our group,” she said.

“The [alleged] coercion, the control and the lack of not actually getting the financial benefit of wages from the work that’s been done.”

Investigators are looking into whether there could be more alleged victims.

Insp Hancock pleaded with anyone who has information to come forward immediately.

“Community members need to come forward. Because what could present as being organised prostitution, may be exploitation.”

She also encouraged any clients who believe they may be involved to come forward.

The women have been referred to health and wellbeing agencies, while one of the women was also referred to the Vulnerable Persons Unit for prior domestic violence related concerns.