The public prosecutor on Thursday demanded sentences of up to one year in jail in the Valkenburg hotel teen prostitute case.

Six men are currently on trial charged with the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl in two hotels in Valkenburg. A further 23 men are awaiting trial later this month.

None of the men was in court on Thursday.

On Wednesday, they asked for a closed court because they were worried about family and friends finding out they are involved in the case. The judge ruled that the case would be heard in open court.

Five of the men were traced through the girl’s phone and one gave himself up to the police.

Motel

The case concerns a girl, who was 16 at the time, who was found by police having sex with a man in a Valkenburg motel in December.

The public prosecutor is asking for jail sentences for all six men, ranging from one year with four months suspended, to six months with two suspended.

Lawyers for the men say these are much too high.

The girl’s 21-year-old pimp, Armen A, faces three years in jail for facilitating the prostitution and appeared in court in June.