September 11, News. According to a press release, police mounted the three-day sting operation in response to suspicions of a recent trend of violence against prostitutes. The organizing officer, Sgt. It also brought them to the realization that victims rarely report the crimes for fear of being prosecuted for prostitution.
Hixenbaugh said he decided to organize the recent crackdown to suppress the illicit market that enabled the violent attacks. Women charged under suspicion of prostitution accounted for 10 of the 23 suspects listed in the police press release. The document says a male officer responded to ads posted at an online solicitation site.
Police then arrested or cited the women after they accepted money in exchange for performing a specific sexual act.
One of the women stung by police, however, claimed she never explicitly agreed to perform any act. The woman, who asked not to be named, told New Times that an awkward back-and-forth with the undercover agent went on for 30 minutes before the cop started fumbling with his belt. When she went in to help, she said, uniformed officers entered the motel room and cited her.
New Times asked Hixenbaugh if he thought arresting the women was an appropriate response to the problem of unreported violence against prostitutes. Hixenbaugh said the task force arrested one woman who reportedly knew she carried a sexually transmitted disease.
