Former postal worker Wayne Pike used redundancy cash to set up brothel in Acomb

A BROTHEL owner whose York business netted £635,400 in two years has been ordered to pay back less than one per cent of his ill-gotten gains.




Wayne Roger Pike ran the brothel from his terraced home in Milner Street, Acomb, taking £30 or £40 from each prostitute’s earnings every time they had sex in the house.



But police financial investigators said Pike had significant debts and his only remaining asset was his mortgaged house, which if sold, would give him £1,587.



At York Crown Court, The Recorder, James Hill QC, ordered Pike, a 37-year-old father-of-three, to pay this sum within six months or face 36 days in prison. The confiscation order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which is aimed at preventing criminals from benefiting from money and property obtained through crime.



The Recorder told Pike: “If it turns out in the future that you have hidden assets, you can expect a recall.”



Pike was sentenced for keeping a brothel earlier this year after pleading guilty to the offence.



He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 150 hours’ unpaid work.



The court heard he had been made redundant from Royal Mail after 17 years of service and used his redundancy money to buy a house and turn it into a brothel.



His defence barrister, Andrew Semple, said Pike had set up the brothel after being approached by local prostitutes and did not coerce anyone into working as a prostitute.



He said the money he made went on child maintenance and loan payments, not high living.



At this week’s confiscation hearing, Mr Semple said although he agreed £635,400 was the sum created by the brothel business, this was not all profit for Pike.