Three arrested in Suffolk in prostitution sting on Craigslist

Prostitution should not be against the law and it's a waste of police man hours and tax dollars to chase them around. Go prosecute some real criminals!

"So all you do gooders, take care of your own life before you try to run an adults life that you have no right to."

Right on. It is time you all kept your noses in your own homes. I do not support prostitution but how is it my right to impose my morals on them as law? it's not, nor is it yours.
So 99% of them are on drugs. Please back that up. The primary reason that diseases are spread is the underground nature of the profession. The countries in which it is regulated, the women are tested, belong to unions, and even are eligable for state benefits. The down side is that in Germany the unemployed have to apply to these business' to collect benefits.
In the end, it is the oldest profession. There will always be a need as long as there are men(and women). These are not brothels but individuals that harm no one. If you think you can end this trade then you are delusional. One person questioned why there was a need. If you have to ask...

It is against the law, I may add. Most of these young women are strung out on drugs. They need help. They live in a circle of criminals. I would not want my child who participated in these activities to have control of my well being when I am older....

I do agree with you though, once they are adults, there is nothing you can do.

DCB, I said a grown adult child...how are you going to curtail and watch them and demand they follow YOUR ideals when they do not have to listen to squat that you say because once again..they are ADULTS even if they are you children..Parents need to get a life once their children are grown. This is the reason this country is in serious shape...parents trating their 40 and 50 year olds as kids and not making them accountable for their choices and actions..

Do you think that if my 30 year old daughter chose this profession, I would have ANY right to tell her to stop? Not on your life , just as she has no right to tell me who I can see, what I can do as long as it does not hurt others in my endevours...now, if you like your grown children meddling in your life, then so be it...I wish you all the happiness in the old folks home for surely thats where they will put you "knowing" this is best for you since you also think you know whats best for your grown kids..they learn these things from parents..privacy vs meddling vs living with bounderies..

rufusb - I knew someone that had a number of escort services (no not a close friend). He DIDN'T want the girls having sex and they got fired if they did. He shut it all down AFAIK because he couldn't control the girls, and didn't want to risk getting in trouble over their actions outside of his wishes.
There is a decent documentary on the subject of prostitution and drug laws. It costs money to incarcerate. I think it's disgusting, but you can see all of the ads for one night hookups on craigslist. I'll probably start putting up fake ads on there and databasing the email addresses of those that respond. Others have done the same thing and found politicians replying and what not.

and not even know it. Please, most hairdressers that do their business out of their home do not dabble with drugs and other crimes that 99 percent of these women do.

And sylcnlac, I am glad you were not my parent. If I knew my daughter was involved in this practice I would be afraid of the diseases she would bring into my home! Not to speake about this is against my beliefs and against the law.

I don't live next door to Craig's List. I don't understand this response...Craigslist is not illegal.

I can have a crime free neighborhood with prostitutes next door if prostitution were not a crime, right? But it is a crime, so again, I'm not seeing the point.

Of course, my neighborhood has a restrictive covenant barring all retail businesses, but if it didn't, how would a prostitute operating next door, out of public view, violate my rights in any manner a hairdresser next door would not? Because prostitution is a crime, hairdressing is not. It might not bother you to have neighbors engaging in illegal prostitution, but other neighbors might disagree.

...I can see no warrant in our US Constitution, nor in that of Virginia, for government to interfere. Good reason to change current laws, but not a good reason to ignore them.

jmo

Just when is enough? Hypocrisy rules our lives. We have prostitution in Vegas in certain areas that are legal. They have legal brothels. Now...how can this be that it can be legal and then NOT legal..where does the buck stop for government interference..Legalize it, have mandatory medical checkups, tax it and I bet you our diseased population would diminish tremendously for if you had a choice of going to someone "well" vs the "unknown" , who would YOU pick..if the need to visit these girls of the night were so strong...

Men stopped buying the services of prostitutes? Is it necessary to purchase what any heterosexual man ought to be able to acquire with patience? Maybe a lack of patience is the whole problem, plus the sense of entitlement about the "need" to "satisfy urges". I am not presenting these comments as moralistic. I just wonder why prostitutes are even necessary.

What if it was my sister or daughter, or husband? All I can say is this. Why does one feel that it is ok to run everyone elses life to the tune of their own dance? If my sister felt like prostituting herself..I ask you this, just what should I do to stop it? She chose to do it, feels she has every right to do it and she is making a living for herself and is a grown adult.

Same goes for my daughter. Once she is an adult..who am I to tell her how to live HER life?? Who is anyone to tell anyone how to live THEIR lives? Get over yourselves..adults can and will make choices all their lives that most will not agree with, but who are we to tell them any different? If you came and told me I couldn't have sex for money, and being an adult..I would laugh you out of my house and maybe have you arrested for interfering in my life..now if my husband decided he wanted these services..I would be a single woman very quickly...

So all you do gooders, take care of your own life before you try to run an adults life that you have no right to.

I don't live next door to Craig's List.

But again, you are employing circular reasoning. I can have a crime free neighborhood with prostitutes next door if prostitution were not a crime, right?

Of course, my neighborhood has a restrictive covenant barring all retail businesses, but if it didn't, how would a prostitute operating next door, out of public view, violate my rights in any manner a hairdresser next door would not?

Understand that even though I do not approve of prostitution, I can see no warrant in our US Constitution, nor in that of Virginia, for government to interfere. Government that does not follow the basic law establishing it is a great deal larger threat to me than a prostitute next door.

What if the girls in question were having sex with numerous men, speading STD's, and were NOT charging any money for it? Would they be arrested? I highly doubt it. In the words of Mr. George Carlin - "Why is it illegal to sell something that's perfectly legal to give away?" Why don't the police go after all the "Escort" ads in the yellow pages? Aren't they just pimps going by another name?

What if it was your daughter or sister??

I am unable to find any way in which these women were violating anyone else's rights.

If this illegal activity was occuring next door you might feel different. No offense, but don't you believe that we have a right to crime-free neighborhoods?

jmo

Policing morality has not always done more harm than good. In this case, a lot of these women are subjecting men, a lot of whom are husbands and fathers, to diseases that can and will disrupt or destroy entire families. Reducing their means of advertising would reduce the number of men employing their services. Also, these women subject themselves to the possibility of physical abuse and increase the number of unsolved violent crimes against women. If they want to make money by selling their bodies, they should use a legal escort service where there are guidelines and a better sense of protection for the employees. Women contend with enough stereotypes/name-calling without having to deal with prostitutes who fuel many of them. I bet half of you wouldn't be so nonchalant about it if it were your own daughters out there (or the husbands of your daughters using their services).

I agree that there are more demanding crimes to be sought after, but it seems that the police are going after easier and easier prey (law breakers). Yes, the law should be followed but to put a team on something so trivial as prostitution on the web..there must be something wrong here. These girls chose to sell themselves without help!

Why not go after people that do child pornography? Work your way back to the easy ones I say once the hard ones are completed but then that is too hard...let the police skate on really doing anything that makes a difference in ones life..for prostitution does not affect many in the least.

You will ALWAYS have prostitution..always will have gambling, always will have drinking...always will have drugs...if these things were made legal...what will the criminals have to gain, if anyone can do it..Legalize and tax it...this will cut down on many crimes and take away easy crime busting that the police make such a big deal over and maybe then the police will focus on "real crime" that hurts others.

I am in favor of prostitution being legalized, but, feel that strict regulations should be applied to the employees of the trade, concerning medical checkups, and "safety practices" while working. A prostitute, by the very nature of the business, is in the position of being able to spread HIV, & other sexually transmitted diseases. While it is illegal, this problem is "unchecked" overall, & unable to pinpoint who may be giving this, even "unintended" or possibly even "unknown" gift to the client. It may worth legalizing just for that reason alone.

"There are many that believe prostitution should be legalized. I am among them. But until that time, people who violate the law must suffer the consequences of their actions, whether they agree with the law or not."

Those who disagree should resist the law. With the thinking that as long as the powers that be have the authority to make stupid laws that violate our freedom, we have succumbed to tyrany. Whether it is this subject, marijuana, curfews, or taxation w/o representation(still occurs every day), to blindly obey these laws as sheep would is not in the American spirit. In fact, there would be no America if we all chose to be constrained by authority.

Just my opinion.

It does seem like and awful lot of money went in to the "sting". I'm all for trying to put a stop to prostitution. But why use all that money to catch a prostitute. You can drive down London Blvd. in Portsmouth any time day or night and pluck prostitutes off the street like wildflowers in a field. It's just as bad in Port Norfolk. Easy work there Portsmouth PD.

Just to set a few things straight....#1 Vice cops work on PROSTITUTION, not murders, those are called HOMICIDE cops. #2 Vice cops work on PROSTITUTION, not burglaries, those are called ROBBERY cops, starting to get the picture? And yes, hooking leads to drugs, which leads to murders, which leads back to drugs, which leads back to hooking. Viscious cycle which will most likely never end, but can solve some unsolved crimes as well as maybe getting some pimps and pushers off of our streets and away from THE CHILDREN !!

Understand that I do not approve of prostitution as a way of life. What I am pointing out is that it is circular reasoning to point to the abuse and degradation of women by pimps as a reason for laws against prostitution, as it is their outlaw status that drives them to pimps and subjects them to abuse in the first place. In making law, as in health care, first of all, do no harm.

As to enforcement of these laws, I would argue that some judgment should be applied. It would be one thing to arrest a prostitute strutting her stuff on the street in front of the local high school, but searching the internet and inviting a prostitute from VA Beach or Norfolk to come out the Suffolk to break the law suggests that the Suffolk Police department might well be overstaffed if they can't remain occupied with more pressing matters.

Government, and the police, exist to secure our rights. I am unable to find any way in which these women were violating anyone else's rights.

I recently emailed Va. Beach police Dept. With a ad from craigs list of my daughter. I never got a response back. I wish she was in Suffolk. She recently turned 21 and I have been trying for about 1 year to get her help. She has a mental compasity of a 6h grader, I am told that there is nothing I can do because she is over 18. SoI have to live everyday with the fear of getting that dreaded phone call. Not only do I love her very much but it hurts more than anyone would ever know.Shes not only wrapped up in the prostitute cycle but now there are drugs and who knows what. She has lost over half of her weight and I am so scared for her.I mean what can you do? Last Christmas I never got to tell her merry Christmas, hung her ornaments on the tree, I never got to tell her Happy Birthday, Happy Easter either.Where can I go to get any help? When I find out anything that she has been envolved with I call the Police. I would rather have her in jail then on the streets. AM I A BAD MOTHER?
Thats all I ask myself.

While I agree with your argument, whether prostitution should be illegal is not the issue. As long as it's against the law, prostitutes (and those engaged in the associated illegal activity) will be subject to arrest and prosecution.

There are many that believe prostitution should be legalized. I am among them. But until that time, people who violate the law must suffer the consequences of their actions, whether they agree with the law or not.

jmo

If your so broke you have to be a hooker, your wrong or stupid or both. There is so much opportunity in this country. They should vigorously pursue this filth. We are Americans, not Europeans, we don't need to give up our values which made us great all these years. You can make $15-$25 starting your own cleaning company, you can dance go-go with clothes on for a very good wage etc. All this prostituting is tied to drugs and bigger crimes. We need to bust these people and break up the organizations who bring this to VB.

now they just need to insure these young ladies protection to win their trust to be able to get the real criminal here. They are like a donkey and the carrot.... their "master" has complete control of them and gets them hooked on drugs to keep them in this business. The girls do not see this money. Their "master" just keeps them stringing along with the addiction to drugs. I am sure these girls have been witnesses to many crimes in the Hampton Roads area.

DCB - Much of the hardship endured by prostitutes, which you use to justify pursuing them with such zeal, is the result of their vocation being illegal. Were prostitution not unlawful, they wold not need pimps and would have no more reason to be involved with drugs than any other self employed woman.

You cannot reasonably force the women into the hands of pimps by denying them the protection of the rule of law and then use the harm they come to because of our laws as an excuse for those same laws.

See http://tinyurl.com/5sslzs

The simple fact is that these women were not violating anyone's rights with their activities, nor were they any threat to the public peace. No one not seeking their services would even know about them were it not for the pursuit of the police. Policing morality always does more harm than good.

This is the second day in a row where I've read comments about ignoring a certain type of crime becuase there is worse crime going on. Allow prostitution in our cities because we have have a graffiti problem? REALLY?? I don't understand how people can decide which laws should be enforced and which ones shouldn't. We don't get to choose.

Kudos to the cops.

jmo

It was either this or having to write a bunch of parking tickets......

Legalize prostitution - there are examples of how to do so in other places, like Holland.

You set parameters, which potentially cuts down on STDs, and you create a new, taxable enterprise.

Go ahead and legalize marajuana for the same benefits.

Neither of these "sins" are going away - and aren't there already legalized things worse than them? Might as well put some control on them and benefit the nation's pocketbook to boot.

By the way - shame on Suffolk police - there had to be a better use of time and resources than this. It is nothing more than a transparent publicity stunt. Way to go.

I would rather see these officers on patrol in heavy crime areas or investigating the many horrible crimes in Suffolk this year. While this is important to curb this nasty business, it's a matter of priorities. Get the violent or child predator criminal first