The pair are believed to have exploited the handicapped teenager by arranging for her to have sex with different men several times a week over a period of several months.

The 17-year-old is thought to be the youngest woman ever arrested for pimping in Sweden.

“I have never heard of anything like this before,” said prosecutor Ulrika Rogland.

The 17-year-old has admitted that she had arranged for men to have sex with the girl in return for payment between August and December last year. Often she would have sex with two men at the same time.

The prosecution say that the 17-year-old’s confession indicates that between three and eight men a week paid for sex with the disabled girl. The accused teenagers appeared before Malmö District Court for preliminary hearings on Friday.

The 17-year-old’s lawyer, Gregor Fridh, asked the court to release the girl pending trial. He said her youth, the fact that she had confessed and the fact that she was now pregnant should be taken into account.

The 19-year-old accused has admitted that she on several occasions drove the disabled girl to appointments with clients. She also confessed to receiving money from clients. Her lawyer, Thomas Pettersson, also requested that the court release his client.

Refusing bail, the court said there was a risk that the accused would tamper with evidence or commit further crimes.

The 17-year-old has been reported several times for theft and assault.

She goes on trial on Monday on separate charges of kidnapping, robbing and threatening a girl who dated her ex-boyfriend. She is being tried together with two alleged accomplices.

The 19-year-old has a previous conviction for petty theft.