Gotham City brothel manager busted for sex work breaches

The manager of a notorious South Melbourne brothel has blamed an increase in clients during Ramadan for unlawfully running a sex service business without a licence.

Gotham City brothel in South Melbourne. Picture: David Crosling

The manager of a notorious South Melbourne brothel has blamed an increase in clients during Ramadan for unlawfully running a sex service business without a licence.

Nicole Callil, 54, pleaded guilty at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to knowingly carrying on business as a sex work service provider without holding a licence, failure to have proper control and supervision of a brothel and drug possession.

The court heard Callil used an unlicensed building that was adjoined to Gotham City brothel for sex work.

Police executed a search warrant in June, 2019 and entered the adjoined building from a laneway which was accessed by stairs from the brothel.

The laneway was enclosed by an overhead roof structure and also had a corrugated steel fence.

A sign on the door said the building was being used as a photography studio but the court heard that it had a similar set up to the brothel.

Six rooms contained double beds with erotic artwork on the wall.

There were also empty sachets of Kamagra, an unlicensed treatment for erectile dysfunction, in ashtrays.

Clean towels and bed linen were in the main hallway and two showers were at the rear of the building.

During the search, police found 424 jelly Kamagra sachets in the main office at Gotham City brothel and nine white envelopes in the wall cavity of the office.

Each envelope contained small zip-lock bags of white powder.

Police viewed CCTV which showed male clients leaving the brothel with female sex workers and entering the adjoined building between May and June, 2019.

Callil was also seen leaving the brothel to attend the other building in order to talk to sex workers and their clients.

Lawyer Mick Milardovic said the woman made an “error in judgment” in allowing some of the girls to take clients, who had prepaid for services, into the adjoined area that was unlicensed.

“She conceded that on a very limiting basis, during this time, this seven-day period which was during Ramadan, that she felt extreme pressure for the amount of individuals that were attending the licenced area,” he said.

Mr Milardovic said Callil had worked in the sex industry for 25 years but was fired from Gotham City after her offending.

Magistrate Steven Ballek said Callil breached her responsibilities as a brothel manager.

She was convicted and fined $1500.

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