A pimp who ran a huge ring of prostitutes using girls from children's homes has been jailed for four years.

But Martin Malone's accomplice, a former care worker who worked with disabled children, escaped with only a community service order.

Southwark Crown Court heard that Malone, 33, earned hundreds of thousands pounds from the trade.

He ferried girls as young as 14 to London's red-light areas - Paddington, Streatham and Soho - and advised them on how to attract punters.

The girls, who became known as the Sexy Young Divas Posse, charged £20 and £40 for sex and handed over most of their earnings to Malone, known by the street name M.

'Powerful personality'

Some girls earned him as much as £6,000 a month.

The court was told that many of the girls were addicted to crack cocaine, while others were simply under the thrall of Malone's "powerful personality".

One girl who dared hold on to some of her takings, was warned she and her family would be "sliced" if she did it again.

Many of the 22 children he controlled came from "disturbed backgrounds" and had run away from their parents.

Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Goymer told Malone: "What you did was that you took advantage of them for your own profit and gain.

"You manipulated them by the force of your personality, and also by making it possible for them to continue to finance their addiction.

"All of them became dependent on you both psychologically and financially and in my mind that is an element of coercion."

'Fell under his spell'

Martin Hicks, prosecuting, told the court that Malone ran his lucrative operation from his basement flat.

He said: "All the girls simply fell under his spell at a time, the Crown submits, when they were most vulnerable.

"Such was his charm that they willingly carried out his instructions as part of an elite group known as the 'Posse' or 'SYD' - sexy young divas."

Malone, of Sydenham, south east London, admitted six counts of living on prostitution over 20 months from January 1998.

Malone's former lover, Pauline Young, 33, was given a 180-hour community service order.

The judge said: "You were a respite care-worker...home help for disabled children and for their families. You were respected and loved and ought to have known better than to do what you were doing."

As Malone began his sentence, Chief Inspector Chris Bradford said outside court: "There was an air of the Dickensian about the way he operated and the powerful hold he had over these young girls. He was a sexual Fagin."

Afterwards the assistant director of Lewisham social services, Kathryn Hudson, said: "Martin Malone knew some of these girls before they came into our care.

"It is not our habit to lock young people up and prevent them from having contact with people they have known in the past and therefore there is always the possibility that they will continue the contact and the activities."