Eleven people in Baltimore have been charged as the result of a major prostitution sting. This was a targeted effort by the police to crack down on the rampant solicitation and prostitution in the area.
In order to lure in people who would be making their solicitations, the officers located some websites that saw a lot of traffic aimed at helping people find prostitutes. They then created their own profiles on these sites, which were made up to be enticing to these people. They got responses from a number of people who wanted to meet up in person.
To make sure that everything really went far enough to warrant an arrest, the officers then set up times and places to meet with these individuals. When they went there, however, they arrested the individuals when it was clear that they were there strictly to pay for prostitution. The solicitations had to be made in person, not just on the Internet, so the officers were forced to play the part until an actual offer of money for a sexual act was made, and they could then move in with teams of other officers and take the individuals into custody.
No word has been released so far on exactly what charges they could be facing.
People who have been charged with a crime of attempting to pay someone else for sexual acts, whether or not that person is officially a prostitute, has the right to a fair trial. They also have a right to plead their case and their innocence before a jury if they want to show that they are not guilty of the charges.
Source: Fox 45, “Eleven Charged in AACO Prostitution Sting” No author given, Apr. 07, 2014
