Money made from nudists at a sex dungeon in an upmarket Surrey village was the proceeds of crime, a judge declared today.
A couple who ran the private members’ sex club where patrons had to always be naked apart from flip-flops, were ordered to hand over more than £45,000 as a result of continuing to operate the sleazy dungeon despite orders to close it down.
Directors of the Kestrel Hydro Spa in green-belt Stanwell Moor, Surrey, Graham Tattershall and Ann Trewren, stood in the dock at Guildford Crown Court today after losing numerous appeals against a council enforcement order which said the sex dungeon was inappropriate to the area.
Graham Tattershall, left, and Ann Trewren, right, were ordered to pay over £22,500 by Guildford Crown Court after they failed to close down their illegal sex club and spa in Surrey. The pair face further sentences at a future date for ignoring council enforcement orders
The spa was run from this property in Stanwell Moor, Surrey for more than a decade
The nudist colony was run for more than 10 years and featured a swimming pool, a sauna, a sex dungeon and a rule prohibiting those present from wearing clothes, although flip-flop shoes were encouraged for the feet.
Today, Tattershall and Trewen were ordered to pay back £22,500 each and were also told they will be sentenced for their crimes of ignoring the council enforcement orders, at a future date.
Tattershall, aged 65 years, was director of the spa and 54-year-old Trewen was his business partner.
The spa ran into legal issues when Spelthorne Borough Council received complaints from neighbours about the previously domestic property being used as a sex club.
The council maintained that due to the green-belt location of the club and the lack of a licence to be used as an adult members club, all structures erected should be removed and trading should stop.
Tattershall embarked on a three year legal battle and the case was heard all the way up to the Court of Appeal in London, but in 2016 he was told he had to dismantle the outbuildings and hard-standings and stop their business venture.
However the pair continued to run the club despite being given a year to cease operations and were ordered to pay back the money they had made in this time at a hearing at Guildford Crown Court today.
The order was made by Mr Recorder Stephen Bellamy-Chambers QC under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The Surrey sex club featured a hot tub, pictured, for the enjoyment of patrons
Mark Watson, defending Trewen, told how she had a son who was being put through school by the Ministry of Defence.
Mr Watson said: ‘Ms Trewen pays around £1,000 total per month to her two sons, one of whom is being put through school by the Royal Air Force.’
The ill-gotten gains of the sex dungeon were made between July 2017 and January of this year, with the club finally closing its doors in February.
The pair appeared sombre in court, with Tattershall dressed in a grey suit with a blue shirt and Trewen in a dark blue jumper with a blue collared shirt underneath.
The court also heard that Tattershall was struggling financially and would need at least six weeks to pay back the money, with Trewen only getting 14 days to pay back her share.
The pair were also ordered to pay court costs, with Trewen told to pay back £4,453 and Tattershall landed with a £3,291.87 bill for the proceedings.
A spokesman for Spelthorne Borough Council said: ‘Having lost a series of court appeals, Kestrel Hydro, a ‘private members club’ which had been operating in Horton Road, Stanwell Moor, has been closed down.
‘Kestrel had been refused planning permission in July 2013 as the structures and use were ruled inappropriate for a residential area in the green belt, but its use continued.
‘The council served an enforcement notice in August 2013 requiring the unauthorised use to stop and for associated outbuildings and hard-standing to be removed.
‘The club appealed against the enforcement notice a number of times but the Court of Appeal finally dismissed the last appeal in July 2016 and refused permission for there to be any further appeal.
‘They had 12 months from that date to comply with the enforcement notice served in August 2013 as amended slightly by the Planning Inspectorate.
‘As the club had continued to operate, after the compliance period had ended, the council obtained an injunction against the owner/occupier of Kestrel Hydro in December 2017, giving them until January 31 2018 to comply.
‘Kestrel Hydro is no longer being advertised online as a private members’ club and the outbuildings have been removed, although action to ensure full compliance with the injunction is ongoing.’
Cllr Colin Barnard, Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development for the council, said: ‘I am pleased that the council’s persistence has paid off and this club finally closed down after losing a series of appeals.
‘The club’s unauthorised use and unlawful outbuildings were clearly inappropriate for a residential area in the green belt and residents were rightly concerned. We take the protection of green belt very seriously and will actively pursue those who flout the rules’.
The prosecution was carried out by the council and not the Crown Prosecution Service.