MedicCook
05-16-2007, 07:05 PM
Online escort services busted
17 local women are arrested and charged with prostitution
ALBANY -- Marijuana seeds. Methamphetamine recipes. Steroids. They're all bought and sold in the dark alleys of the Internet. Now, some local women have allegedly added sex to that illicit list.
Seventeen women -- most from the Albany area -- have been charged with prostitution after advertising their services on the Web.
The women, who range in age from 18 to 46, allegedly set up meetings with clients on craigslist.com and escorts.com.
Members of the drug interdiction unit for the Albany County Sheriff's Department apprehended the women after a four-month investigation. Investigators acted as customers and set up meetings at hotels and motels throughout Albany County.
Inspector John Burke headed the unit that made the arrests. He said more prostitutes likely will use the Web because it is safer than streetwalking.
He also said the Web has made it easier for his office to make prostitution arrests.
Burke said craigslist.com had numerous suspect postings on its Albany Web site under the "Erotic" heading. He said many prostitutes advertise as a massage service.
A review of the site Tuesday revealed a number of such advertisements.
Craigslist.com spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best wrote in an e-mail that the erotic category was created at users' request to make it separate from the general "personals" category. She said it was created for legal escort services and sensual massage providers.
She said illegal activity is not welcome and that craigslist.com has worked with authorities many times. Still, she said, the Web site is user-moderated and has 25 million postings.
The local women who used craigslist.com to advertise charged $100 to $2,000 and traveled along the East Coast.
The women were charged with prostitution. Some also were charged with promoting prostitution, massage without a license and drug counts.
The women were arraigned in Albany and Colonie courts. Some were sent to the Albany County jail without bail. Others were issued appearance tickets.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=589783&category=FRONTPG&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=5/16/2007
17 local women are arrested and charged with prostitution
ALBANY -- Marijuana seeds. Methamphetamine recipes. Steroids. They're all bought and sold in the dark alleys of the Internet. Now, some local women have allegedly added sex to that illicit list.
Seventeen women -- most from the Albany area -- have been charged with prostitution after advertising their services on the Web.
The women, who range in age from 18 to 46, allegedly set up meetings with clients on craigslist.com and escorts.com.
Members of the drug interdiction unit for the Albany County Sheriff's Department apprehended the women after a four-month investigation. Investigators acted as customers and set up meetings at hotels and motels throughout Albany County.
Inspector John Burke headed the unit that made the arrests. He said more prostitutes likely will use the Web because it is safer than streetwalking.
He also said the Web has made it easier for his office to make prostitution arrests.
Burke said craigslist.com had numerous suspect postings on its Albany Web site under the "Erotic" heading. He said many prostitutes advertise as a massage service.
A review of the site Tuesday revealed a number of such advertisements.
Craigslist.com spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best wrote in an e-mail that the erotic category was created at users' request to make it separate from the general "personals" category. She said it was created for legal escort services and sensual massage providers.
She said illegal activity is not welcome and that craigslist.com has worked with authorities many times. Still, she said, the Web site is user-moderated and has 25 million postings.
The local women who used craigslist.com to advertise charged $100 to $2,000 and traveled along the East Coast.
The women were charged with prostitution. Some also were charged with promoting prostitution, massage without a license and drug counts.
The women were arraigned in Albany and Colonie courts. Some were sent to the Albany County jail without bail. Others were issued appearance tickets.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=589783&category=FRONTPG&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=5/16/2007