An academic professional at the University of Georgia who was arrested Thursday in a sex sting in Oconee County became the second UGA employee charged this month in connection with investigations into the website Backpage.com, according to reports.
"We had a strict set of guidelines to go by in order to make an arrest," he said. "There has to be an offering of money or something of value for a sex act."
...eight men and one woman arrested during an undercover sting targeting people looking for sex on the Backpage website, according to Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry. The woman was charged with prostitution.
"We posted ads on Backpage and we responded to ads on Backpage," Berry said Friday.
Those arrested have been released on $1,000 bonds.
One man who came to the motel was allowed to leave when he did not make an offer that would have constituted pandering, according to Berry.
The male suspects all met with a female undercover officer who works for the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office, Berry said. Deputies had a room where the people would meet under secret surveillance.
"They were under surveillance for the protection of the undercover deputy - and evidence was gathered in the recordings of the conversations and the payment of money for a specific sex act," the sheriff said.
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Full story/more photos: edited to remove link to photos of people charged.
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