Two men have been jailed in Australia after a 17-year-old Indonesian girl was trafficked into the country and forced to work as a sex worker in brothels. Surya Subekti, 45, lured the vulnerable teenager from the slums of Indonesia in January 2024 on the pretext of escort work, while Elton Valentino, 32, drove her to brothels in Sydney and Gosford where she was made to work each night. The case is significant as an example of cross-border human trafficking involving a minor, and the court's rejection of the men's defence underscores that a child cannot legally consent to such work under Australian law.

Over roughly two months, the victim was made to service between five and 10 clients per night under a contract requiring 10-to-12-hour shifts, and she suffered stomach pains, severe blood loss and difficulty walking, later diagnosed as a sexually transmitted infection. In a statement to Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, she said the experience was 'a shock to my body' and that she could 'no longer feel happy'. Subekti used the alias 'Batman' while organising visas for a number of women to do sex work in Australia. Both men argued the girl had already worked in the sex trade in Jakarta and came voluntarily, but Judge Nicole Noman rejected this, noting she was a child who could not give informed consent.