A lawyer for Zhu, from Chadstone, argued the teenager claimed to be 27 and engaged in "dominatrix" and "fetish pleasers", which were not defined as sexual services under the act.
The teenager was already working at the brothel when Zhu began his role and he did not check her ID because he only checked the new workers, defence lawyer Katarina Ljubicic said.
She also told the court the young girl wanted to work at the premises.
"Clearly she wanted to continue to work there. She's intended people to believe she's older than she is," Ljubicic told the court.
The court was also told the girl wore her hair in pigtails, wore a black one-piece and that a woman known as 'Raven' had "showed her the ropes" during some sex acts.
This woman was "always" present for full sex acts, said Ljubicic.
Prosecutors argued dominatrix work was included within the provisions and she had been paid to do those acts.
But "crucially" investigators asked whether she had to fill in any applications and the teen told officers she hadn't, prosecutor Sandra MacDougall said.
"It was just sort of 'great you're willing to work, in you go'," the teenager told investigators.
The young woman sent a doctored image of her L-permit to an "intermediary" but never to the brothel, MacDougall told the court.
She said it was up to the managers to confirm the age of workers, but none of the accused had apparently made an attempt to ascertain the teenager's age.
Magistrate Angela Bolger found there was enough evidence including CCTV footage of the alleged victim and witness statements that a jury could convict the trio.
The trio all pleaded not guilty to the offences and will next appear in the County Court of Victoria on June 15.
- NCA NewsWire
