Prostitution Arrests Nets Five, Including 15-year-old

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Five women were arrested in a Backpage.com prostitution sting that included sex trafficking of an underage girl in Broome County. Police have noted a disturbing pattern in which the classified ads website is used to solicit clients forsex acts. Authorities say that undercover police officers devised an elaborate sting operation to address the growing incidents ofchildren being pimped for sex acts. Police contend that online classified ads sites, like Backpage.comserve as a launching pad that is rife with scams and prostitution. Officers set up operations in a local motel and doubled as clients in search of dateswith women seeking money in exchange for sex. The women arrested in the prostitution sting showed up at the motel after arranging a meeting with their supposed dons aka Broome County special investigators. Police would not elaborate on what led tothe actual arrests duringthe meetings. They, however, must have developed enough probable cause at some point to take five women and one minor into custody. The women's ages in the Backpage.comprostitution sting were 15 to 35. Six females were actually arrested for misdemeanor prostitution, and the 15-year-old girl--who was brought along for sex acts--was released to her parents. She will be charged, however, injuvenile and/or family court. In this day and age withadvancements in the Internet and social media, women and men taking part in sex-for-hire is on the rise at disturbing rates and magnitudes. The largest rise is in the underage group in which young children are forced into sex trafficking. Backpage.comshould follow the lead of another online classifiedad site like Geebo.comwhich has taken proactive and responsible steps in making its site safe for all users. By adopting best practices , it demonstrates that it is serious about ridding the Internet of sex trafficking and not usingit as a launching pad for sex solicitation. Backpage should follow the same example.