A ROBBER who targeted brothels and sex workers has been jailed.

Vytautas Rubys, 22, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and one count of handling stolen goods at Snaresbrook Crown Court, yesterday and was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Rubys posed as a potential client to target addresses he knew were being used by sex workers between late 2011 and his arrest on May 3 in Leyton.

On December 22 last year, at around 9.15pm, he entered a property in Horn Lane, Barkingside, with another man.

Once inside they tried to allow three other men to enter the property.

There was then a struggle with four women who tried to prevent this happening.

Two of the women managed to escape, while the other two were restrained by the men, who were armed with knives.

One of the women was forced to hand over money and the robbers escaped with around £1,000.

Rubys also carried out a series of other violent robberies across London.

OnOn the evening of January 11, Rubys targeted an escort based in Back Lane, Hampstead.

The victim was lured out of her home and surrounded by a number of hooded men, including Rubys, and was threatened with a screwdriver.

She was tied up and her attackers stole £600, a mobile phone and designer handbags worth £5,000.

The following day, at 6.45pm, a premises used by a number of escorts in Oak Road, Ealing, was targeted by a gang of four men.

One woman was threatened and tied up with cable which caused cuts to her ankles and wrists.

The men stole two mobile phones.

Rubys also pleaded guilty to handling a ring which had been taken in a robbery at an address in Sorrell Gardens, East Ham, on December 3 last year.

He visited a branch of Cash Converters in Stratford two days later and pawned the ring for £25.

Rubys, who had been identified on CCTV, was arrested outside the police custody centre in Leyton on May 3 and charged the next day.

He pleaded guilty on July 18 at Sanresbrook Crown Court.

Detective Inspector John Cracknell, of the London Crime Squad North, who led Operation Evelegh, said: "Rubys was a violent offender who had no qualms when it came to targeting vulnerable women in the pursuit of money and other valuables. It is right that he has received a substantial custodial sentence.

"We are indebted to these women who provided valuable evidence in this case despite their difficult personal circumstances.

"I would like to assure all other sex workers who find themselves victims of crime that we will treat them with discretion and sensitivity and do all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice."

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