Romanian grooming gang led by ‘smirking pimp’ are jailed for grooming vulnerable Scottish women and forcing them to take part in ‘sex games’

A Romanian grooming gang run by a ‘grinning pimp’ has been jailed for raping and sexually assaulting 10 women.

Ringleader Marian Cumpanasoiu, 38, and four friends drugged their victims, aged between 16 and 30, at flats in Dundee between 2021 and 2022.

Cumpanasoiu, described as a ‘winking, grinning pip’ who behaved with a ‘predatory nature’, was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Christian Urlateanu, 41, Alexandra Bugonea, 35, Remus Stan, 35, and Cataline Dobre, 45, were also jailed following a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow today.

Judge Lord Scott said some of the group had ‘directed and minimized’ their crimes.

He said: ‘Over a period of 15 months you each participated in serious sexual abuse and exploitation of vulnerable and often young women in the Dundee area.

‘There were various reasons why they were vulnerable, including difficult family circumstances and drug use.

‘By offering them an endless supply of mostly free crack cocaine, you further compounded their vulnerabilities and began to exploit them for your own sexual gratification and, in some cases, financial gain.’

Jurors had previously heard harrowing accounts of how the gang preyed on its defenseless victims, many of whom were already troubled by personal problems.

They would be offered whiskey and crack cocaine and made to participate in sleazy “sex games”.

So many young women were said to have ‘passed’ that the team struggled to remember who they were.

Cumpanasoiu, who was declared to have behaved in a ‘predatory manner’ towards women, was found guilty of 10 rape charges.

He was also found guilty under the Trafficking in Persons Act on charges of coercing a woman into prostitution and running two brothels.

One victim was told he was sold a “pipe dream” of how he could make “a lot of money” by selling his body.

Meanwhile, Stan was found guilty of four rapes and Dobre of two.

Alexandra Bugonea was found guilty of one count of rape and another of unlawful sexual activity.

A video of a woman climbing a tree was found. Cumpanasoiu was said to have threatened: ‘You’ll be up in the tree all day because you’re not making any money.’

Judge Scott continued: ‘You have no doubt assumed, for a time, that the women’s drug-related lifestyles meant you were not reported or detected.

‘This attitude and the illusion of impunity continued to some extent in the background reports before me, and efforts to exploit women’s vulnerability to attack their credibility continued. These attitudes do you no good at this stage and will make the situation worse.

General view of the High Court of Glasgow in Scotland

‘Perhaps you thought no one cared about your victims, so you could do whatever you wanted to them with no consequences. If so, events have proven you wrong.

‘Each of the women found the strength to testify despite their difficulties and took steps to move forward from that stage of their lives.

‘To the extent that they are able to do this, I commend them for taking back control of their lives and bearing witness to the abuse they suffered at your hands.

‘It is clear that the jury understandably and overwhelmingly accepted the vast majority of the evidence and rejected your unconvincing denials and claims of consent.

‘Contrary to your evidence, the women were careful, trustworthy and persuasive. Your victims are now alive, although they are permanently damaged by what you did to them.

‘Due to the severity of the offenses, which include serious sexual exploitation and abusive behavior towards vulnerable women, there is no alternative to guardianship.’

There were also brutal testimonies about how Urlateanu, Stan and Dobre gang-raped a woman. He was attacked when he went to a ‘party’ at a flat in Dundee.

This victim recalled being given a substance that left her feeling ‘rotten’ before she was attacked by the trio.

KC Gillian Ross told him: ‘What do you think about these allegations being made?’

Urlateanu: ‘I was very scared and scared by all this.’

He was found guilty of nine charges, including raping four women and unlawful sexual activity with another.

In his statement, Bugonea admitted to organizing ‘sex parties’ at his home and described them as a ‘fun atmosphere’.

When asked if he had sexually assaulted any of the victims, Bugonea said: ‘I’m a woman, why would I have a plan to rape her?’

He also denied visiting only because of drug problems, claiming he believed the women were “friends”.

Bugoena said: ‘Even now I can’t believe they put me in this situation.’

He described other evidence heard at the hearing as ‘nonsense’.

The crimes for which he was convicted included being part of the rape of a woman and engaging in illegal sexual activity with another woman.