A prostitute and her friend have been jailed for three years each after they were found guilty of extorting money from a client.

The prostitute told the client the condom had burst during sex and she needed an abortion. 

Pauline Pisani, 30, and Stephen Mifsud, 43, were jailed after Magistrate Marseann Farrugia found them guilty of extortion in September 2007. In all, they extorted almost €2,500 from a man who only needed sexual services. 

The court heard how the client, whose name cannot be published by court order, had approached her while she was loitering in Marsa on August 30, 2007. He wanted oral sex but she insisted on sexual intercourse and even provided the condom.

When they were done, Ms Pisani, who told the man her name was Roberta and that she was 17 years old, claimed that the condom got damaged during intercourse and that she was going to get pregnant. 

She demanded €1,200 for the abortion. It was at this point that Mr Mifsud intervened, with a large stone in his hand. He told the man his name was Jason and that he was Roberta's husband. The man asked what they were expecting and they said they wanted money. 

He had €430 in his wallet but they wanted more so they took him to a nearby ATM and he withdrew another €250. 

A week later, Ms Pisani waited for the man outside the factory where he worked and told him that she needed more money for the abortion and he gave her the €260 he had in his wallet. She demanded more and threatened to call her husband so he took her to his house and gave her another €600. 

Later that evening, she called him on his mobile and demanded another €600. In the background the man heard a male voice warning him not to be funny as they'll burn down his car and his house. He agreed to meet and met Roberta and Jason and another man who was introduced as Roberta's father and gave them the €600 they requested. 

When he went home he told his parents about what was happening and the following day he received another call from Ms Pisani saying she had a bladder infection and demanded another €350. The man's father grabbed the phone and told the woman that he agreed to pay as long as it was the last payment. They met and the money was handed over. They noticed that the prostitute had tattoos on her shoulder and her breasts so they filed a police report with the woman's description. The police showed the man a set of photographs and he identified the two accused. 

Magistrate Farrugia found Mr Mifsud guilty of extortion, living off the earnings of prostitution and relapsing and jailed him for three years after noting how he had 24 previous convictions, including two for extortion while Ms Pisani's criminal record was more colourful, containing no less than 34 convictions, including two for extortion. 

The magistrate remarked Mr Mifsud and Ms Pisani were "a threat to society" and were both relapsers. 

They were jailed for three years each and ordered to repay the extortion victim almost €2,500. Mr Mifsud was fined a further €750 for breaching a probation order. 

Police Inspector Louise Calleja prosecuted while lawyer Malcolm Mifsud appeared for the accused.