A sex worker who lured two lonely men to hotel rooms before tying them up and robbing them has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Violent attacks on lonely men
Caprice Brown, now 25 and of no fixed address, admitted two counts of robbery, fraud, and assaulting an emergency worker. Her crimes took place during the Covid pandemic in 2020, targeting men who were contacted on dating apps.
The first victim, an Aston Villa supporter, was contacted on Badoo in July 2020 by a woman calling herself 'Zara'. They arranged to meet at the Jurys Inn on Broad Street in Birmingham. Brown arrived with another woman, claiming it was for her 'personal safety'.
After the victim agreed to be tied up, the pair violently attacked him. They pressed a hot iron against his body and punched him. The women fled with his wallet, which contained his bank cards, store cards, and his Aston Villa season ticket. They later used his card to purchase a £999 iPhone from Argos.
A second, similar offence in Coventry
In September of the same year, Brown was involved in a second, similar incident. This time, a victim was contacted on Tinder by a woman named 'Maia' and arranged to meet at the Britannia Hotel in Coventry.
After talking in the room, Brown and an accomplice, Karissa Alfrez, emerged from the bathroom. The victim agreed to be taped up and handcuffed before being attacked and threatened with scissors. The trio left with his phone and bank card, which was later used to transfer £1,000.
Sentencing and judge's remarks
Brown was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on December 15. Judge Simon Drew KC imposed a nine-year term but stated the sentence was "designed to punish but not crush you." He noted Brown would serve up to 40 per cent of the term in custody.
The judge acknowledged Brown's "extremely difficult" upbringing, which he said put her in a "very difficult position" from childhood into adulthood. Nevertheless, he described the robberies as "really nasty offences" that exploited lonely men during the pandemic.
Judge Drew expressed hope that Brown, a mother-of-one, would be reunited with her son while he is still a child, telling her: "You'll be back with him soon enough."
Karissa Alfrez, also 25 and from Handsworth, now identifies as a man named Damani Scott-Slue. Scott-Slue was found guilty of one count of robbery related to the Coventry incident and was sentenced to six years in prison.
