A MAN who trafficked two women into Britain by claiming to need an au pair and then sexually abused them has been jailed for 18 years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Gajaweera Perera, 49, lured the two women into the country by posting an advert for an au pair on a website in Germany.

The first woman came from Spain in 2015, she believed to work as an au pair, looking after Perera's daughter.

But Perera began to touch her sexually almost as soon as he met her from the plane, on the journey to his home in Prescot.

During the next day and night he sexually abused her, despite several protests from her.

Fortunately she had made contact with another woman on the flight from Spain and she contacted her in the middle of the night to say what was happening to her.

The two women met the following day and contacted the police.

The second woman came to England from Spain the following year, in response to a similar advert for an au pair on the same website.

She arrived in England with her mother, who had come to make sure that her daughter was safe before she left her.

On this occasion, Perera behaved impeccably and the mother eventually flew back to Spain, confident that her daughter was safe.

But Perera soon began to abuse the woman in a similar way to the other victim.

He sexually abused her in his flat but she eventually managed to get away and reported what had happened to police at nearby Prescot police station.

Perera was spotted coming towards her and was arrested.

Geoffrey Fryar, Acting Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor of MerseyCheshire Crown prosecution service said: “Perera brought this two unsuspecting women into this country so that he could use them for his own sexual gratification, not caring if they consented to what he did or not.

“He denied his offending to the very end, so forcing the victims to relive their trauma during a trial. He said they had lied. The jury have seen through that and have convicted him.

“I would like to thank these women for their bravery and courage in bringing this man to justice. It is impossible to say what the impact of his actions has been on them but the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have done all we can to bring their abuser to justice.

“The logistics of this prosecution have been difficult. The two victims are both now living abroad and speak very little English. They have been offered support and help throughout the process and Perera is now behind bars.”