mother in Colombia a city made famous by
one man the drug baron Pablo Escobar for
over a decade he ruled these streets
through extreme violence in the 90s
shootings car bombings and random
murders made it by far the most
dangerous city in the world
Escobar is long dead but the years of
chaos have left the darkness in Medellin
the soul I have been following
Colombia's drug wars for 15 years that
time most of the violence has moved to
Mexico
but this city is still suffering from
its narco legacy
bring it from us yeah if I was a problem
where everyone it was he any more giant
I cannot get more Harris Bonita nothing
a total of XY for years
the EC cash of the drug trade has filled
a huge sex industry even the taxi
drivers are in on it than I was
is that sick about asparagus asparagus
limited Amanar presence didn't
apartamento philosophy contact any
easier on a la pertinent to ages they
say here if you put a roof on maybe in
it would be the largest brothel in the
world
this is Maryland's red light district
the niala has been walking these streets
for five years since she was 11
prostitution is legal here but the age
of consent is necessary associate as you
know they all say yeah then waving but
some visitors aren't satisfied with just
young girls Pablo Escobar famously like
sleeping with virgins now for a premium
price sex tourists can do the same as
the drug straight fell away the gangs
are controlled these barriers look for a
fresh source of income this shocking new
trade means mothers all across many even
live in fear Nikita's daughter is just
11 years old to go there laughing but
her mother says the gangs already have
plans for her
so no man okay yes I can do that okay
okay yeah
muy posible please came case an idea I
mean the local interest una Linea even
onions the idea came ask you know young
crystianna I say it is a Jose I just saw
Nutella he's sorry naka Juan so they go
so it doesn't happen on our apologize
Vanina please
esta esta
no but I'll see later cuz a queer mucho
que si algorithmic an avocado cuz I live
in it ok no cuz you learn about I don't
care ok greet a caiman take a movie
pendiente puede las Casas idea is just
how it was precise k ambitious order I
don't know
well adjustment in him we are live the
gentleman tango muy muy Elliott
akhenaten Anatomy this is not the image
of Medellin the authorities want to
promote they have spent millions
cleaning up the city attracting visitors
and trying to show it has moved on from
the past the mayor told me that they had
reports of virgins being sold but had
not investigated so local people have
taken matters into their own hands this
graffiti says is not a rumor there are
buying and selling girls for sexual
exploitation they means the gangs the
gangs control everything in the various
including the trading virgins for weeks
I've been trying to persuade them to
talk they finally agreed but only if we
don't reveal their identities these men
are part of the city's main guns la
oficina
they inherited pablo escobar's empire la
vecina control these streets their
business is drugs extortion and the sex
trade
tonight they're keen to show me how easy
it is for them to find new virgins may
the yen is less violent than it used to
be but still the life expectancy of
these gang members is not high they feel
they have nothing to lose they spot
three young girls start talking back
they invite them to a party a couple of
minutes later the girls give them their
phone numbers
it was incredible to see how the gang
members stopped to 14 year old girls and
groom them in ten minutes
they caught them phone numbers and
possibly in a couple of days later I
meet up with the gang members
this man's violent and cynical world the
two young girls were nothing more than a
way to make money I wanted to know what
kind of man would come to Colombia to
have sex with girls this young elextra
heard of Paul Anthony Brailsford wake up
without putting Paul Braille Sport is
the only Briton convicted of having sex
with children here in Colombia in 2011
he was arrested in a hotel room with
child pornography and accused of
sleeping with two girls aged 12 and 14
he didn't have a gang to groom the
virgins for him he did it himself
he's now spending 20 years in prison
I managed to get him to agree to an
interview from inside the jail we we
know the sentence well basically I'm
still fighting to get out I'm innocent
yes you're innocent
no no unfortunately here there are many
underage hookers yes okay and I got
caught in a sting I thought they were
older problem there were 12 years 12
years old one and the other one 14 off
yeah okay both tall yeah yes tall as you
yeah very well-endowed yeah yes so you
thought were they were over 18 yes I
thought old enough no problem what he
didn't know is that the day before I had
gone to see one of the girls he was
convicted of abusing the legal age of
consent in Colombia is 18 now me is now
16 years old when poor Brailsford slept
with her she was just 12 she told me she
was not a prostitute
that he groomed her after seeing her on
the beach and then abuse her over
several months
I mean try your eyes they're gonna be
okay no gala happen yeah I mean assadís
Kayano me for younger signals phenomena
socket case in ASEAN are you go all over
see no blonde Motaba oh okay so I say
assess in your very Mahalanobis tamami
she has to be in Kochi gnarley' okay
I mean she's 16 now and for me she
doesn't look 18 okay still so if I think
back and three and a half years ago when
she was 12 it should not have looked
this is your opinion yeah okay no
problem
yeah so you didn't so she was 12 no your
opinion my opinion
yeah sure you didn't so you didn't think
she was tough your opinion my opinion
and that was it yes and do you have
anything to tell them do I have anything
to tell them yeah if you had them in
front of
you Gloria and the tooth under and her
two daughters what we'll tell them close
it down close it down
close it down close it down down Paul
Brailsford is one of just three
foreigners in jail in Colombia for these
crimes no you don't have anything to say
to 12 you with the authorities failing
to confront this growing trade is left
to mothers like milling Geetha to fight
for their daughter's futures maybe in
might be a safer place for tourists
nowadays but not for young girls growing
up in the barrios among the gangs who
are exploiting their innocence for
profit
Guillermo galdós Channel 4 News
Miriam
you