Apartment Prostitution and Custody – A Case of Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld and East Westphalia

As a single mother, Ms Holst has it tough – no question. She must run the household, earn a living and raise a child – all without the support of a partner. Most mothers handle this situation admirably, others fight through all difficulties and ensure their child lacks nothing, while some struggle under the pressure and seek help, and then there are those who resort to measures that endanger the welfare of the child. The last group is the focus of this case handled by Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld and East Westphalia.

Is the granddaughter well looked after by her mother?

The clients of our detectives in Bielefeld, the Jennecke couple, have a four-year-old granddaughter. She is the daughter of their late son and his penultimate partner. During his lifetime, the son had shared custody and saw his daughter regularly on 4 to 5 days within two weeks. After his death, sole custody passed to the mother of the granddaughter, Ms Holst. The relationship between Ms Holst and the Jenneckes had never been good, so the couple now only rarely sees their granddaughter. Nevertheless, she has not disappeared from their hearts, Mrs Jennecke assured our Bielefeld private investigators in tears.

The couple has always worried that the child might not be well cared for by her mother. Without evidence, however, their family law lawyer explained that they would have no chance of convincing a judge to amend the custody arrangement. Furthermore, they feared that raising concerns without proof could irreparably damage the relationship between the child’s mother and the grandparents.

Anonymous caller unsettles the grandparents

For a long time, the Jenneckes remained silent with uneasy consciences, until one day they received an anonymous call from someone claiming to be a neighbour of Ms Holst and consequently contacted our private detectives in Bielefeld. The caller reported that sex for money took place in Ms Holst’s apartment, that the constant visitors disturbed him, and that something should be done for the sake of the daughter. Knowing the Jenneckes’ son personally, he now wanted to reach out to the couple.

Naturally, the couple was shocked by the caller’s information and considered their options. File a criminal complaint with the police? The police would hardly pursue a family law matter seriously. Prostitution itself is not illegal, although it would be interesting to know the property owner’s opinion of the alleged activity of our investigation target. Their lawyer agreed with these concerns and, after consultation with the operations coordination of Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld and East Westphalia, recommended hiring our detectives.

Online research regarding the alleged prostitute

The first investigative step was to check with police colleagues whether any incidents had occurred at Ms Holst’s address indicating professional sexual services. As there were none, and no business registration existed, the second step involved online research by our Bielefeld detectives. Searches were made regarding prostitution in connection with the target’s address. The research produced only limited results, but one useful clue was found: in a forum where clients exchange experiences about prostitutes’ qualities and prices, the target address was mentioned. A woman was said to offer her services privately (without a pimp) at relatively low rates. The forum author wrote that he had received the tip from a friend and checked it out, but was unimpressed by the woman’s appearance and deterred by the untidiness of the apartment, so he left without engaging further.

During the research, our Bielefeld private detectives did not identify any contact information for arranging a meeting with the woman.

Observation of the apartment by our Bielefeld detectives

The operations management of Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld and East Westphalia decided to observe the apartment with a detective to determine whether men were indeed entering and leaving. The directive was based on the hope that there would be not just occasional visitors but steady client traffic, as multi-day or multi-week surveillance would strain the Jenneckes’ budget. According to the anonymous caller, there were constantly visitors, so the investigators’ hope appeared justified.

Before observation could begin, another problem arose: the property is a multi-family house. To determine which male entrants were residents and which were visitors, all male residents had to be identified. This was accomplished through a detailed and documented pre-investigation over a week. At the start of the observation, only one unidentified male resident remained (he was reportedly on holiday), minimising the error margin.

Numerous unknown male visitors

Our Bielefeld private detective chose his observation post so that he could recognise with his telephoto lens which doorbell arriving visitors pressed. Over three shifts on successive days, each morning from 11:00 to 01:00–03:00 at night (depending on when the light went out in the target flat), the two alternating observers documented a total of thirteen male persons who rang Ms Holst’s doorbell, entered the property and did not live in the house. Three of them stayed only for a few minutes, nine others’ dwell-times ranged between fifteen minutes and four hours, and one apparently spent the whole night there. In addition there were four persons who rang the bell but did not enter the house (in three cases someone else had already entered and not yet come out).

Also noteworthy: Ms Holst held no gainful employment outside the flat during the surveillance and the daughter was not seen even once by our Bielefeld detectives. The subject herself was observed only once outside the target property, namely while doing some shopping, and several further times while smoking at the open window. Mostly she wore a light dressing-gown, which could well serve as erotic attire.

Our Bielefeld detectives pose as clients

The above findings from the observation by Kurtz Detective Agency Bielefeld and East Westphalia are already quite clear. But in consultation with the Jenneckes and their solicitor another investigative measure was adopted: under the cover story of seeking sexual services from Ms Holst, two detectives visited her flat a few days apart. They were both given explicit offers which our Bielefeld private detectives of course declined after some negotiation and enquiries. The enquiry of services and terms served to gather further information and to corroborate the suspicion. Both investigators noticed the apartment’s lack of cleanliness.

One of them caught sight of the daughter as she ran through the corridor with a cuddly toy. She greeted the detective and was then sent by her mother into her room. Since the Jenneckes’ granddaughter evidently is not even taken to nursery, she must have regular contact with her mother’s clients. How much she picks up from the sexual acts of her mother can only be speculated. In any case a significant breach of the duty of care exists, whereupon the Jenneckes, following the now-completed investigations of Kurtz Investigations Bielefeld and East Westphalia, will endeavour with their solicitor to obtain custody of their granddaughter. Whether this will succeed cannot yet be said with certainty, but at least the youth welfare office is likely to carry out stringent checks in future.