Posted at 9:18 a.m. EDT Wednesday, April 14, 1999

Cubans sentenced to 30 years for pimping activities

HAVANA, April 13 -- (AFP) -- A Cuban court sentenced three men charged with corrupting minors and pimping to 30 years in prison each, a Cuban newspaper reported Tuesday.

Four other people, including two women, charged wit the same crimes were sentenced to between three to 27 years, the daily Granma said.

The seven working in the province of Camaguey, some 480 kilometers (300 miles) east of Havana, tried to persuade a group of young girls to perform sexual acts and used force on those who did not want to comply, the daily reported.

While prostitution, a business not technically illegal in Cuba, can be punished if authorities believe the offender is creating some type of ``public danger,'' pimping can be prosecuted under Cuban law.

In a speech in January, Cuban President Fidel Castro called for a nationwide crackdown on crime, especially prostitution, which caters to foreign tourists.

Castro said during the speech that from early 1998, a police offensive against prostitution had resulted in some 6,700 arrests and that 277 prostitutes had been sentenced to re-education.

gt/sba/sb

AFP