A Brazilian woman, who yesterday pleaded guilty to working as a prostitute in Athlone, was driven to commit the offence, a court heard yesterday.
Clara de Alemeida Correra (27) of Rathmines Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to the charge, as did Zimbabwean Ratidzai Moyo of Blackpool, Cork. They were charged with soliciting clients for the purpose of prostitution.
Athlone District Court was told that the offences occurred on July 23th last at Doovoge, Clonown Road, Athlone.
Solicitor Pádraig Quinn, defending, said Correra was a student of English, living in Dublin. She was being supported from Brazil by her parents, as she had no income in Ireland and she had a seven-year-old daughter in Brazil. "She was driven to commit the offence," said Mr Quinn.
Moyo is a computer programmer, but is not allowed to work in Ireland because she is an asylum-seeker. She has two children - a son born in Ireland in June and a nine-year-old daughter living in Zimbabwe. She gets €154 a week social welfare payments.
Mr Quinn said that both women were "humiliated" and "embarrassed" by what had happened. Neither defendant had any previous criminal record.
They were fined €150 each.