A mother has told how she twice went to a central Christchurch massage parlour to try to find her 16-year-old daughter after hearing the girl was performing on stage.
She struggled to be able to do anything to help the girl, after being told by the authorities that girls were legally able to strip from the age of 16.
"I had become aware that she was doing more than just stripping up there. She was not supposed to be doing sexual acts," the mother told a depositions hearing before Justices of the Peace in Christchurch District Court today.
A suppression clamp has come back down on the case, in which a 57-year-old businesswoman is facing eight charges relating to with the exploitation of two under-age sex workers.
The woman originally had name suppression but the order lapsed in December and her name was published. The order was reinstated today, covering the woman's name, the names of the two girls in the charges, and the name of the massage parlour.
The hearing is expected to continue tomorrow. The charges of facilitating girls under 18 to provide commercial sexual services and receiving payment for under-age girls providing the services have been laid under the Prostitution Reform Act.
The mother said she went to the massage parlour in July last year to ask if her daughter was there. She spoke to the manager on the phone because she was not present. The manager said she did not believe the daughter was there, and the mother became angry and hung up.
She later burnt photographs she found in her daughter's bedroom, showing the daughter at the massage parlour in costumes including a g-string, and a little top.
She went to the parlour again two months after the first visit, paid to get in, and found her daughter sitting drinking with others while there was a performance on stage. She spoke to her.
"I decided to stay. I had this overwhelming feeling that I didn't want to leave her there." Over about two hours, she saw a series of acts on stage involving six or seven women.
"I had never been to anything like that before and I was quite shocked." She saw girls dancing on stage, but also saw sex acts being performed with sex aids, such as vibrators.
The daughter eventually did leave with her, but wanted to continue working at the parlour.
The mother said her daughter no longer wanted to go there. Late last year she had completed a limited service volunteer course at Burnham Military Camp. After that "she had a bit more pride in herself".
The hearing is continuing.
