A woman who was cleared of allegations she ran a brothel in Kirkcaldy fled the UK on an illicit passport while she was on bail.
Ana-Maria Raducanu, 30, was acquitted of claims she kept, managed, acted or assisted in the management of a brothel in the town’s Canon Byrne Glebe.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard this week that prosecutors had accepted her plea of not guilty in connection to the charge.
However, the court was told she broke bail conditions by leaving the country.
Raducanu, now of Lanark Road in Carstairs, was released on bail from last May on the condition that she surrender her passport and refrain from applying for another.
When police officers attended at her former home in Melrose Crescent on December 21, they found a new passport belonging to her.
Surrendered passport
Raducanu, who has been on remand in HMP Polmont since December 30, appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday to admit breaching her bail conditions.
Aided by a Romanian interpreter, Raducanu pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the strict court order between September and December last year.
The court heard that Raducanu had used the new passport to travel back to Romania to visit her family, but had returned to the UK with it.
Her solicitor David Bell said: “She has no previous convictions and hasn’t been on remand before.
“She did surrender her passport to the court.
“She went back to Romania and visited family members. She obviously shouldn’t have applied for a passport and left the country, but she did.”
Mr Bell said: “She had never been in the prison environment in this country or elsewhere.
“This has been pretty distressing for her, but she accepts it’s because of her own deliberate defiance.
“She has effectively served the maximum sentence.”
Already served an “eight month” sentence
Mr Bell explained that his client’s family had attended court and, if released, Raducanu would be staying with a relative in Aberdeen.
He explained that the maximum sentence for the offence would be 12 months, but as Raducanu pled guilty at the first calling, she was entitled to a third discounted off her sentence.
Sheriff Maryam Labaki admonished Raducanu, releasing her from custody.
The sheriff said: “Although it’s a serious matter to which you have pled guilty, I take into consideration the length of time you have spent remanded in custody, which equates to nearly an eight month sentence of imprisonment.
“I also understand why you visited your son, not that it excuses you, but it’s helpful for the court to understand why you broke the law.
“I therefore admonish you.”
