By Wendy Anders

A 59-year-old man was arrested today on charges of aggravated pimping at a clandestine bar/hotel in Guachipelin, Escazú, an upscale suburb west of San José, Costa Rica’s capital.

After Judicial Investigative Agency police (OIJ) received a tip-off early this year they began investigating the building, which led to the bust at 2:00 this morning.

In addition to the operation’s leader, police also found women, adolescents, and children upon entering the site.

Seven women, one of whom is 16 and may have been trafficked from Nicaragua, were employees of the bar/hotel. Two of them worked as waitresses, and the remaining five, including the minor, performed sexual services for which they charged CRC70,000 (US$128) in cash. Apparently part of this money was given to the pimp, and the rest was kept by the prostitutes.

In a search of the property, police also discovered six children (two boys and four girls, all between the ages of five and 13) sleeping in one room, as it appears the locale also served as their home.

The man arrested on pimping charges is apparently father to two of the girls; and one of the women who worked as a waitress is apparently mother to the other four children.

The six children were taken into custody by the Costa Rican Child Protection Services (PANI, in Spanish).

Local police confirmed that the locale did not have permits to operate as a bar nor as a hotel.

The suspect is being held while his background and other details of the case continue to be investigated.