An 18-year-old Romanian woman has told gardaí she was held captive in Dublin by a Romanian man and forced to have sex with up to 200 men over a period of more than two years, reports Kitty Holland.
Gardaí have confirmed they are investigating her complaints and are searching for the man.
Ms Maria Alexi, who is now under Garda protection, has told detectives that the man brought her into Ireland illegally in 2001 when she was 15, promising her a "great future" here.
She has told them how after a few months living in Dublin, the man started bringing men to have sex with her in a number of flats in the city.
Her ordeal came to light when she was admitted to hospital in Dublin in the past fortnight after a neighbour called an ambulance and gardaí. She told gardaí she had just been beaten by the Romanian man. She had been six months pregnant, but has now lost the baby.
She has told The Irish Times that the baby's father was the man who brought her to Ireland and that he had wanted her to have an abortion.
She was initially brought to the Mater Hospital and gardaí subsequently accompanied her to the Rotunda Hospital. She made a full statement at Fitzgibbon Street Garda station on Monday evening and an investigation by detectives at the Bridewell Station is now underway.
A garda involved in the investigation said yesterday that this was a "particularly horrific case".
"We are very anxious to catch this guy. There is a lot of fear involved here."
From the northern Romanian city of Bistrita, the girl was 15 and living with her grandmother in a difficult financial situation when she met a Romanian man with residency in Ireland. He promised her a bright future here.
In January 2001 he arranged for her to travel by bus to Spain where she was met by a friend of his, who had a false Italian passport ready for her to use to fly to Dublin, she has told gardaí.
Speaking to The Irish Times this week, she said she was kept a virtual prisoner in a number of flats around Dublin and forced to have sex with Romanian, Bulgarian and Chinese men.
She said she feared for her life - at one stage the man who brought her to Ireland slashed her chest with a knife. She said she met other girls being similarly exploited who had also been enticed here with promises of a bright future in Ireland.
She said that as well as being forced to have sex with men who were brought to the flats in which she was staying, she was also brought to casinos around Dublin where men were told she was available for sex. All the money was paid to the man who first brought her to Ireland, she said.
Ms Alexi has no valid documentation or identification, but gardaí say there is no question of her being deported.
She is likely to receive humanitarian leave to remain in Ireland, and she will also be needed as a witness in any forthcoming trial in connection with the case.