34 Arrests days after new law effective. Regional Crackdown on prostitution promised which target online consenting adults.
Customers arrested include professional golfer, an EMT and man on the day before his wedding 5News reports. He lost $10,000 he had paid for the wedding since he was in jail.
16 men for prostitution that showed up at a hotel sting from adult ads.
14 men charged with child when responded to adult ad but then told younger age and didn't realize the legal issue.
3 Women massage therapists from Eurospa
1 Man that ran Eurospa charged with criminal enterprise
Tempe Police Chief Tom Rxxx said that police around the Valley and state are making a regional effort to crackdown on sex trafficking and sex slavery, using a new state law that increases penalties. He said Tempe police have assisted in similar Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Yavapai County Sheriff's Office sting investigations.
Detectives created pages on websites to lure men."It's like any undercover operation. The job of the detective is to play that role."
Rxxx said the old days of prostitutes flaunting themselves in provocative attire on street corners are over, and that prostitution is now an Internet-based crime. He said police have to adapt their tactics to keep up with the criminals.
"Now, with the Internet, it's much easier, and the target audience is much greater," Rxxx said.
New law expands the definition of prostitution to include anyone who "encourages" any person to do acts of prostitution. In addition all escorts, companions and massage/body rubbers require license numbers on all advertising.
Various studies dispute the data used by the save the victim organizations. The study shows that forced "trafficking" is not as big of a problem as some would have us believe. Most sham studies only include those arrested (often from the streets), or in shelters because abused by pimps or in required drug programs. This does not represent a cross-section of nonincarcerated consenting adult private workers.
But the definition of trafficking under the Federal Act includes consenting adults and the media convinces the masses that prostitution is about children with pimps.
Under the new law, you can claim you're a victim of sex trafficking and have a get out of jail card to be a sacrificing pawn for the trafficking/victim funding industry. That supports their claim that a high percentage of "prostitutes" are the victims of "sex trafficking."
Yes, go after the abusive under aged forced by pimps - a very small percentage of arrests. But mass arrests of consenting private adults bolsters numbers to support more funding for stings and the widespread "trafficking" myth.
There seems to be a lack of actual ladies that are saved from traffickers in all these sting operations lately. Project Rose has arrested close to 400 women who have to choose between being a "victim" to please Catholic Charities, or go to jail. Applause for those that refuse to become their "victim". As one recently said the only violence she has seen in sexwork is that of the police. She felt she had been kidnapped to Bethany Home Church by the police and refused to be a pretend victim and was warned she would get a citation with the mandatory jail time.