A Portuguese dominatrix who ran an international sex-trafficking and prostitution racket is to be deported from the UK.

Fabiana De Souza, 43, and her English husband Gareth Derby, 55, were jailed for a combined 10 years in February last year after they were caught running a sex den in Harrogate, where many of the sex workers were based after being flown in from abroad.

Today they appeared at Leeds Crown Court for a financial-confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. These proceedings will determine how much the former couple has to pay back for their mega-money trafficking scheme, which involved sex workers from Portugal and Brazil.

Defence barrister Michael Fullerton said full analysis of the defendants’ assets and finances had not yet been completed and De Souza had yet to provide her own statements.

He said the defence would be contesting the undisclosed sum being sought by the prosecution.

Mr Fullerton asked for an adjournment in the proceedings to allow time for De Souza to serve the statement but asked for a postponed date no later than August 21 when she would be deported from the country.

He said Derby’s defence team also needed more time to ascertain the value of a car belonging to him which appeared to have ended up in Portugal.

He claimed some of De Souza’s financial gains during the offending period were from her work as a beautician and in the fitness industry.

He said this money was “not…earned by her as a dominatrix with her own website during that period”.

Mr Fullerton claimed that De Souza’s involvement in trafficking six sex workers from abroad was for a “limited period” only.

He claimed Derby had transferred some of the money into De Souza’s account and she had received some legitimately from a family member.

‘Flying in’ sex workers

During their trial at the same court in December 2021, the jury heard that De Souza and Derby, from Norfolk, had been “flying in” sex workers from Europe and South America.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lumley KC said the couple treated the women like “commodities” as they made massive sums from their illicit trade.

De Souza, who provided dominatrix and discipline services to punters in Harrogate, was said to be the ringleader of the “large-scale commercial operation” in which she and Derby, a high-earning engineer and machine specialist, flew in sex workers from Brazil and Portugal, paid for their flights and met them at airports, before whisking them off to sex dens where men paid for “massages” and “full (sex) services”.

They had exploited the “vulnerable” women for “significant” financial gain by “controlling (their) finances (and) choice of clients”.

The sex workers were put at a “significant financial disadvantage” and forced to lie to police to avoid detection.

De Souza and Derby, who ran the lucrative business from their home in East Anglia, were arrested in August 2018 and charged with controlling prostitution for financial gain and human trafficking. They each denied the charges, but the jury found them guilty on both counts following a 10-day trial.

The charges related to six named women who worked at the Harrogate sex den and two properties in Norfolk between April 2017 and August 2018.

Bower Road brothel

Mr Lumley said De Souza rented a two-bed flat in Harrogate town centre through a letting agency “so it could be used for sex…which would be advertised on the internet by these two defendants”. He added:

“There was another (rented) flat in Norfolk put to similar use and when that became unavailable, even the home of these defendants was converted for use by sex workers.

“As soon as the (prostitutes) arrived here, they would be installed in the flat in Harrogate or elsewhere, always with the purpose of being available for sex.”

De Souza and Derby would pay for sex adverts within hours of picking the women up from airport around the country and “setting them up” at the flat on Bower Road in Harrogate. The adverts were placed on the classified escort websites Viva Street and Adult Work.

Bower Street in Harrogate

They took the bookings and “made the arrangements (with the clients)” who would pay various amounts – from £80 for half an hour to over £1,000 for an overnight stay.

The money usually ended up in De Souza’s Halifax, Bank of Scotland and NatWest bank accounts, but on occasions “cash simply changed hands, handed by the sex workers to one of these two”.

Between May 2017 and August 2018, some £38,000 cash was deposited into De Souza’s bank accounts at branches in Harrogate and Norfolk. About £9,000 of bank transfers were then made to accounts in Brazil and Portugal using a money-services bureau.

Mr Lumley said one woman was flown in on an EasyJet flight from Amsterdam and was picked up by the couple who had driven from Norfolk in a 4×4 pick-up. Derby also drove a Mercedes.

They would arrange for a train ticket to be available at the airport as they moved the women around the country “or put them on a bus and sent them up to Harrogate or somewhere else”.

Undercover officer

Following her arrest, De Souza, who is serving her sentence at a women’s prison in Peterborough, told police she had left her husband in September 2017 with the intention of divorcing him and moved to Harrogate “where no-one knew me”.

She had rented the Bower Road flat for over £700 a month and let rooms out to “others”, some of whom were “friends from Portugal”.

Derby said only that he had an “inkling that Fabia worked at the Harrogate flat as a dominatrix”.

In a text sent to a friend in January 2018, he boasted of being a “smuggler of women”.

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Police trawled through the bank accounts of De Souza and her husband and found they had spent “thousands on air fares” and over £2,000 on Viva Street adverts alone.

An undercover officer posed as a client to make appointments for the sex den on Bower Road. De Souza would answer the calls in “broken English” and arrange the appointment.

The officer was offered a “range of services”. On his first visit, dressed in civilian clothes, he was met by a sex worker named ‘Lisa’ who buzzed him into the flats above shops.

He made “numerous” such visits to other women after responding to adverts including one for a “Hot Brazilian, full service”. She was about 57 years old but was advertised as 33.

De Souza and Derby, of Town Street, Upwell, in south-west Norfolk, were each jailed for five years in February 2022. They are still serving those sentences in different parts of the country and had to be transported to Leeds for the confiscation hearing.

Judge Mr Stubbs KC adjourned for a further hearing on June 27 when the case might be resolved but is likely to go to a contested, half-day hearing on July 28, when the prosecution and defence will set out their cases for a greater or lesser financial settlement based on the defendants’ assets and finances.

Plans have been submitted to convert a Harrogate former homeless hostel into social housing.

Last summer, Harrogate Borough Council unveiled plans to build a modest number of social homes at seven sites it owns across the district.

The plans included converting Cavendish House on Robert Street which was operated by the council from 1983 until November 2021 when it closed.

In 2021, the council opened a new homeless centre called Fern House in Starbeck.

The former Robert Street hostel had nine bedsits, which in plans registered last week would be converted into six self-contained apartments.

Average house prices are around 11 times the median annual income of people who work in Harrogate and it has made the area one of the most unaffordable places to live in England.

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In planning documents published before it was abolished at the end of March, Harrogate Borough Council said converting Cavendish House would make a small dent in its social housing waiting list, which now features over 2,100 households.

In 1974, the council owned 7,000 council houses across the Harrogate district but this has fallen to 3,800 since the Conservative government introduced the Right to Buy scheme in the 1980s.

Planning documents state:

“The building was utilised previously as temporary accommodation for single homeless households, however it is no longer fit for purpose and does not meet the needs of this client group (Fern House, a new facility for the same client group, has recently been completed at Spa Lane).

“The building has been empty since November 2021. As such, it has a negative impact on residential amenity and increasingly risks attracting anti-social behaviour.

“The development proposals will deliver much needed affordable accommodation in a redundant building and a highly sustainable location, complying full with national and local planning policy guidance.”

In March, plans were approved to build one two-bedroom social home at a council-owned plot of land in Huby.

The council also hopes to develop a site on Halfpenny Lane in Knaresborough into 14 homes for market sale, social rent and shared ownership.

North Yorkshire Council, which succeeded Harrogate Borough Council, will make a decision on the plan at a later date.

A lamb has died and two ewes were attacked following a sheep worrying incident in a field on the edge of the Harrogate district.

North Yorkshire Police said the incident happened in Rainton, five miles from Ripon, on Wednesday (April 26) at around 11.20am.

A large German Shepherd was seen in a field attacking sheep. The dog was chased away but not before two ewes and a lamb had been attacked. The lamb died from its injuries.

Officers today appealed to the public for more information about the incident.

A police statement added:

“Officers are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident. In particular, they are appealing for information from anyone that might have been in the area at the time and witnessed the incident, or can assist in identifying the owner of the dog.

“Anyone who has information that could assist is asked to email david.mackay@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to David Mackay.

“If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230074349.”

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Harrogate and Knareborough councillors will have the opportunity to back or oppose the Station Gateway scheme at a meeting on Friday.

The meeting has been specially arranged by North Yorkshire Council and the authority’s ruling Conservative executive has pledged to abide by whatever decision local councillors collectively make about the project.

A final decision on whether it goes ahead is expected in the summer.

The £11.2 million Station Gateway has been in development for three years after funding was won from the government’s Transforming Cities Fund to make the town centre more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

But it’s proved to be controversial with the results of the latest round of public consultation, published in January, suggesting the Harrogate public are narrowly against it.

For or against?

This week’s meeting will include 13 councillors — eight Liberal Democrats and five Conservatives.

Conservative councillor for Bilton and Nidd Gorge, Paul Haslam, is a proponent of the Station Gateway.

He has argued it would give a boost for active travel in the town and the changes would result in a better first impression of Harrogate for people arriving by bus or train.

Station Gateway proposals show Harrogate’s James Street pedestrianised.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Harlow and St Georges, Michael Schofield, came out against the project last week.

He questioned the council’s track record in delivering active travel schemes following the Otley Road cycle path saga and he believes the disruption caused around Station Parade during construction would hurt town centre businesses.

Public responds to traffic orders

The council’s head of major projects and infrastructure, Richard Binks, has prepared a report for councillors that includes details of proposed traffic regulation orders that were submitted last month in anticipation of the Gateway scheme going ahead.

The orders include making the section of Station Parade to the junction with Bower Road one-way and introducing a northbound one-way section on Cheltenham Mount between Cheltenham Parade and Mount Parade.

There is a proposed order to bring in a 24-hour bus lane on the northern section of Station Parade.

Another order has been proposed to part-pedestrianise James Street between Princes Street and Station Parade.

Since the orders were proposed in March, 41 comments have been received with most being negative. However, the report notes that letters of support about the orders are not usually expected.

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• ‘It will hurt businesses’: Lib Dem councillor to vote against Harrogate’s Station Gateway

Concerns have been raised by residents about the potential for increased congestion due to Station Parade becoming single-lane.

In response, the council has said modelling has suggested the gateway could mean it takes just 50 additional seconds to travel across town during the evening rush hour.

However, it called this a relatively small increase and said it does not take into account “successful strategy modal switch outcomes”, which essentially means getting people out of their cars and onto bicycles — one of the key ambitions of the project.

How to watch the meeting

Next week’s meeting starts at 10am at the Civic Centre in Harrogate and it will be streamed live on YouTube.

Anyone who wishes to speak at the meeting or ask a question has until midday today to submit a request. More information on how to get in touch with the council can be found here.

A Harrogate man has denied raping a girl under the age of 13.

Carl Briggs, 42, of Wisteria Gardens, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court to face two charges on Friday (April 28).

Briggs, who spoke only to confirm his name and enter a plea, denied two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 13.

He pleaded not guilty to the first charge, which is alleged to have taken place at a house in Knaresborough between September 13, 2013, and September 13, 2017.

The 42-year-old denied a second count, which is alleged to have taken place in Bradford.

Magistrates ordered Briggs to appear before York Crown Court on May 30, 2023.

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It’s time to join the Stray Ferret Business Club. Our next networking event is after-work drinks at Manahatta, on May 25th at 5:30.

Don’t miss out on this chance to network with businesses from across the Harrogate district. Get your tickets by clicking or tapping here.

A Harrogate building consultants has made a donation to a local mental health charity.

DSSR Building Consultants, which is based at Windsor House, made the £600 donation to Mind in Harrogate.

Representative from the consultancy firm presented the cheque to the charity this past week.

A spokesperson for DSSR Building Consultants said:

“DSSR Building Consultants are dedicated to promoting, improving and supporting the mental health of our staff.  In conjunction with this commitment to our colleagues, we are delighted to be able to help and support our local charities and community.

“Even though 1 in 4 people have mental health problems, most of us don’t get the help we need. Mind in Harrogate District offers a number of support services to anyone struggling with their mental health.”

Plant nursery launches step challenge

A Harrogate district plant nursery has launched a 15 million steps challenge in aid of charity.

Johnsons of Whixley launched the campaign as part of Move More Month in April to raise vital funds for horticultural mental health charity, Perennial.

Staff at Johnsons of Whixley taking part in the April step challenge.

Perennial supports people in the horticultural industry, including those who work at Johnsons, with health and wellbeing advice, housing and financial support and debt advice.

Speaking of the challenge, Eleanor Richardson, marketing and office manager and qualified mental health first aider at Johnsons of Whixley, said: 

“At Johnsons, we believe that taking care of our employees’ mental health is just as important as their physical health, so that’s why this challenge is such an important one for us.

“Not only will we be supporting Perennial, which has helped a number of our team members in the past, but we will be getting together as a team and building bonds across departments, getting some exercise and supporting one another towards a shared goal.”

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Few teething issues have emerged during first month of the new North Yorkshire Council, the leaders of its political groups have agreed.

Councillors said residents facing confusion over who to contact and delays of about 30 minutes when trying to phone the council’s call centre had been the most major cause of concern since the county council and seven district authorities fused operations on April 1.

Ahead of North Yorkshire Council’s launch its chief executive Richard Flinton warned while the authority’s basic infrastructure had been created ahead “snagging issues” were expected when the new council launched due to the scale of the merger and “eight different ways of working”.

When asked whether he was pleased with how the transfer had gone so far, the Conserative-run council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les said: 

“Yes. It has gone surprisingly well, but with the amount of effort put in by Richard Flinton and his team I shouldn’t be surprised.”

He added: 

“We always said if you are going to chose a time to do local government reorganisation you wouldn’t necessarily be coming out of a pandemic with a war going on in Ukraine and various other things happening.

“You wouldn’t chose to launch on April 1, when council tax bills are going out for a new authority and people renew their garden waste collection waste collections with the new authority, but still have phone numbers for the old authorities.”

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Speaking ahead of a meeting behind closed doors with Mr Flinton and the other political group leaders to discuss the council’s first month, Cllr Les said the unitary’s contact centre had become deluged, resulting in lengthy answering delays and potentially some residents hanging up.

He said: 

“The contact centres have been busy and have not been as to strength as we thought they might be. We are taking steps to increase recruitment and increase training.”

The leaders of the council’s other political groups agreed no other major issues had emerged during the authority’s first month.

North Yorkshire Council civic centre at Knapping Mount.

Labour group leader Cllr Steve Shaw Wright said while the unitary authority appeared to be “generally working”, its call centre had been “an absolute abomination”.

He added: 

“Selby Town Council just can’t do anything because people have been forever ringing them up because North Yorkshire’s call centre doesn’t work.”

Green group leader Cllr Kevin Foster said: 

“This has been a massive undertaking and on the whole things have gone very well. There’s still lots of work to do, but if you’d asked me if I’d have accepted this when the changeover went in I would have grabbed it with both hands.”

Liberal Democrat group leader Cllr Bryn Griffiths said residents struggling to find phone numbers to contact the unitary, which was “trying to force people to use the internet a lot”, and delays in answering, had represented “a mixed start” for the unitary.

He added: 

“With a big organisation of about 10,000 employees there are bound to be a few hiccups.”

Independent group leader Cllr Stuart Parsons added: 

“Things could have gone better, but it also could have gone a lot worse.”

He said the centralised call centre had not appeared to work as well as “phoning the old numbers for district council call centres”.

Cllr Parsons said: 

“It’s been mainly hiccups, nothing major appears to have gone wrong, which is very comforting. It’s just a question of trying to iron out the hiccups and ensuring services improve considerably.”

Three generations of the same family have pledged to climb two mountains back-to-back to raise money for research into multiple sclerosis. 

Clare Ellison, her dad Michael, 72, and daughter Jessica, 11, will be tackling the epic hike up Whernside and Ingleborough in memory of Clare’s mum, Julia, who lived with the disease for nearly 40 years before her death last year. 

Julia was a Harrogate resident and an active member of the Harrogate branch of The Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Clare said: 

“It was my daughter’s idea. I took her up her first mountain, Whernside, last week and when she saw some people climbing it for a charity she asked if we could do the same in memory of my mum. I thought it was a great idea, so we’re hoping to raise £300 for the MS Society, which mum was a very active member of.” 

The father, daughter and granddaughter will set off on July 1 to trek 14 miles (22.5km) in total, climbing over 1,000 metres along the way. Whernside and Ingleborough are the two highest peaks in Yorkshire.

Clare, who revealed her family’s fundraising plan during MS Awareness Week (April 24-30), said: 

“Multiple sclerosis is such a cruel disease. If you imagine your nerves to be like electrical wires, MS strips away the plastic coating, causing the nerves to short-circuit, producing spasms, or even die off altogether. 

“Mum was diagnosed with it when she was about 35. She had to use a wheelchair for nearly 20 years, and eventually had to move into a nursing home for the last few years of her life, catheterised and unable to swallow. 

“I think it’s really important to help stop people from experiencing what my mum had to experience. It’d be great if we could help fund research that eventually led to treatment to stop MS in its tracks. Any donation at all will make a difference to the lives of people affected by the disease.” 

Readers can sponsor My MS Walk – Double Yorkshire Mountain Climb via its JustGiving page. 

Read more: 

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A dance group for over 50s that launched in lockdown is opening classes in Harrogate town centre.

Following the success of classes in Darley, Ripley, Ripon and Knaresborough, Happy Dance will begin hosting weekly sessions in Harrogate in May.

The group began during the pandemic, with just five members dancing over zoom. Three years later, Happy Dance boasts over 80 members aged between 53 and 93.

The classes take place in various village halls and consist of 45 minutes of upbeat dancing. They involve stretching, balance, work-out sequences, or just ‘boogie exercise’.

Happy Dance founder Jane Waring is an experienced dancer and qualified RAD ballet teacher. She choreographs dances for all fitness levels to ensure members can work to their own abilities.

Ms Waring focusses heavily on the social element of the classes – particularly for those combatting feelings of loneliness – and encourages members to carry on the socialising after.

Ms Waring told the Stray Ferret:

“I can almost guarantee that at the end of class you will feel happier, taller, lighter and proud you have danced for 45 minutes, had fun, laughed and danced well over 3,000 steps!

“It is so good for your well-being.”

Happy Dance will be held in Harrogate at St Robert’s Centre, on Robert Street. Classes will take place every Tuesday at 11.45 am, beginning on Tuesday, May 16.

Booking details can be found on the Happy Dance website.

Officers at North Yorkshire Council will meet with Harrogate residents this month to discuss how £565,000 can be spent on sustainable travel around Harrogate’s Otley Road.

The former county council allocated £4.6m to deliver a sustainable transport package in the area but the results so far have disheartened both residents and cyclists.

Most of the money has been spent on the widening of the Harlow Moor Road junction for cars, smart traffic lights and the roundly-criticised cycle path.

Rene Dziabas, chair of Harlow and Pannal Ash Residents Association, told a meeting of the group’s members last week that it will be putting forward ideas on what the remaining  £565,000 could be spent on.

Mr Dziabas said:

“I have convinced the council to hold a workshop on ideas for what we think are sensible things to put on Otley Road. That will be held on second half of May. Local residents have a right to have an input on this.”

Read more:

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• Confirmed: second phase of Harrogate’s Otley Road cycle route scrapped

Otley Road has faced years of stop-start roadworks and residents have also been scarred by the experience of the cycle path, which was so unpopular that the council were forced to abandon its second phase earlier this year.

One resident asked Mr Dziabas what improvements can realistically be made with the £565,000 but he said it could be the start of a long-term plan to reduce congestion on Otley Road and get people out of their cars.

He said:

“The £565,000 won’t give you much but what we need is a sustainability plan. It might cost X million and take five years but we need a proper plan in place that convinces people that you will deliver sustainability. This bit could be the start of it.”

Mr Dziabas added that he has been encouraged the approach taken by North Yorkshire Council who he said “appear more willing to listen”.

He said:

“We’re having meetings but it’s a double-edged sword. We’ve complained for a long time that they’re not talking to us, now they are talking to us they can say [afterwards] oh, we have talked to you. But if you don’t talk you can’t influence.”

It’s expected that proposals for Otley Road will be put before councillors on the Harrogate & Knaresborough area consituency committee in July.