Teh One Who Knocks
02-03-2015, 12:47 PM
Alan Gathright - 7 News Denver
http://i.imgur.com/UNwzeck.jpg
DENVER - A nationwide Super Bowl sex sting operation led to the arrest of 570 would-be sex buyers and 23 traffickers -- including the arrest of 20 "johns" in Denver, authorities said Monday.
The operation, which ran for the two weeks ending on Super Bowl Sunday, brought together 37 law enforcement agencies from 17 states in a widespread crackdown on the demand for purchased sex, Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, said in a Monday statement.
Denver police participated in the national operation, arresting 14 suspected johns in a street prostitution sting and six more men in an escort operation sting, police spokesman Sonny Jackson told 7NEWS. The department also towed 18 vehicles belonging to suspected prostitution customers.
"We do john operations all the time, this is not unusual," Jackson said. "We consider it a quality-of-life issue. ... It is usually complaint-driven, where people are complaining about activity in their neighborhood," he told our partners at the Denver Post.
Sheriff Dart said the nationwide campaign highlights the role of the classified ad website Backpage.com as a conduit for the sex trade -- 64 percent of the johns who ended up in handcuffs had answered what they thought were online ads for prostitution on Backpage. Additionally, seven percent of the johns arrested responded to fake ads that investigators posted on Craigslist.
Charges stemming from the operation included felony sex trafficking of adults and juveniles, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, pimping and rape, Dart said. The sweeps also yielded charges of kidnapping, drug trafficking and possession of illegal firearms.
"Sex trafficking continues to destroy countless lives, and this broad national movement should send a strong message to prospective johns that their 'hobby' is much more than a 'victimless' crime," Sheriff Dart said. "It's particularly meaningful that this sting culminated on the day of the Super Bowl, which unfortunately has emerged as a prominent haven for sex trafficking."
http://i.imgur.com/UNwzeck.jpg
DENVER - A nationwide Super Bowl sex sting operation led to the arrest of 570 would-be sex buyers and 23 traffickers -- including the arrest of 20 "johns" in Denver, authorities said Monday.
The operation, which ran for the two weeks ending on Super Bowl Sunday, brought together 37 law enforcement agencies from 17 states in a widespread crackdown on the demand for purchased sex, Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, said in a Monday statement.
Denver police participated in the national operation, arresting 14 suspected johns in a street prostitution sting and six more men in an escort operation sting, police spokesman Sonny Jackson told 7NEWS. The department also towed 18 vehicles belonging to suspected prostitution customers.
"We do john operations all the time, this is not unusual," Jackson said. "We consider it a quality-of-life issue. ... It is usually complaint-driven, where people are complaining about activity in their neighborhood," he told our partners at the Denver Post.
Sheriff Dart said the nationwide campaign highlights the role of the classified ad website Backpage.com as a conduit for the sex trade -- 64 percent of the johns who ended up in handcuffs had answered what they thought were online ads for prostitution on Backpage. Additionally, seven percent of the johns arrested responded to fake ads that investigators posted on Craigslist.
Charges stemming from the operation included felony sex trafficking of adults and juveniles, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, pimping and rape, Dart said. The sweeps also yielded charges of kidnapping, drug trafficking and possession of illegal firearms.
"Sex trafficking continues to destroy countless lives, and this broad national movement should send a strong message to prospective johns that their 'hobby' is much more than a 'victimless' crime," Sheriff Dart said. "It's particularly meaningful that this sting culminated on the day of the Super Bowl, which unfortunately has emerged as a prominent haven for sex trafficking."