Flying Spaghetti Monster
Footballguy
Here are the pics.
http://imgick.al.com/home/bama-media/pgmain/img/alphotos/photo/2014/12/05/-587357fc9314c209.jpg
Here is the story.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/12/6_women_arrested_in_birmingham.html#incart_m-rpt-2
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Six women were arrested Thursday night in an undercover prostitution operation in Birmingham.
Five of the women are charged with soliciting for prostitution. One of the women was charged with physical harassment after trying to grope an undercover officer.
Using backpage.com, a website mentioned in prostitution stings nationally, undercover officers set up dates with the alleged escorts and then arrested them once they met face to face and agreed on the terms.
"This operation was conducted in the Birmingham metro area and was not focused on any specific location,'' said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. "It was in response to prostitution complaints received by the Birmingham police Vice Unit. This operation was also conducted to directly combat other crimes that are associated with the solicitation for prostitution."
Police started their operation Thursday afternoon and worked into the evening. Vice and Narcotics Lt. Ron Sellers said after receiving complaints about prostitution in several areas, they went to backpage.com and set up the undercover dates.
"Most of the girls were working out of hotel rooms,'' Sellers said. "We called them to come meet us."
Once they were together, the escort and the undercover officer discussed acts and prices. "Once that was completed,'' he said, "The officers moved in and made the arrest."
Prices these days can range anywhere from $100 for 15 minutes to two hours for $400. "It can be lucrative,'' Sellers said. "Everybody does it for their own reasons. It could be they are forced in to it, or they are supporting a drug habit. There is no one reason someone sells themselves for money."
Sellers said many of the women engaging in prostitution work in groups and travel circuits. "They may be in Birmingham this weekend, and in Memphis Monday,'' he said. "They move around, chasing sporting events and conventions. A lot of them will be gravitating toward Atlanta for the SEC Championship this weekend."
The prostitutes, Sellers said, are smart. "They've been arrested before and they want to make sure we aren't police officers,'' he said. "There's a line we can't cross and don't cross so it's like verbal Judo with us trying to convince them we're not police."
That's what led to the physical harassment charge against one of the women. It's a tactic to discover police because the women know the officers' boundaries. "If they reach down and try to grab, we're going to stop them and take them to jail,'' he said. "We just stop when that happens."
While many will argue that prostitution shouldn't be a crime, that no one is getting hurt, Sellers said that couldn't be farther from the truth. "There are a lot of other crimes associated with escorts,'' he said. "They deal in cash. They don't trust police. Not only is what they are doing illegal, these girls are easy targets for robbery."
Johns also are sometimes targeted for robbery. "We're trying to stop the crime,'' he said, "and we're trying to stop the criminal element for preying on them."
In May, Birmingham police arrested five suspected prostitutes at a Birmingham hotel. The women weren't just loitering around the hotel. Instead, they set up dates through a website and then would meet the johns.
In June, local and federal law enforcement officers made several arrests in connection with an online escort service last weekend, including one felony arrest for human trafficking, according to Birmingham police. The Birmingham Police Department's Vice Unit and the FBI went after escorts who posted on the website Backpage.com.
In that case, one man was charged with human trafficking.
A similar operation was recently carried out in Gadsden. People arrested there were also using backpage.com.
Those charged in Thursday's Birmingham sting are: Ashley P. Marshall, 25; Jacuelynn M. Reed, 24; Ashalah C. Miller, 29; Krystal G. Higgins, 31; Elisa D. Jaramillo, 29; and Edith R. Burks, 21.
All of the women are charged with soliciting for prostitution except Jaramillo, who is charged with physical harassment.
The crimes are misdemeanors, and bond for each is set at $500.
http://imgick.al.com/home/bama-media/pgmain/img/alphotos/photo/2014/12/05/-587357fc9314c209.jpg
Here is the story.
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/12/6_women_arrested_in_birmingham.html#incart_m-rpt-2
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Six women were arrested Thursday night in an undercover prostitution operation in Birmingham.
Five of the women are charged with soliciting for prostitution. One of the women was charged with physical harassment after trying to grope an undercover officer.
Using backpage.com, a website mentioned in prostitution stings nationally, undercover officers set up dates with the alleged escorts and then arrested them once they met face to face and agreed on the terms.
"This operation was conducted in the Birmingham metro area and was not focused on any specific location,'' said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards. "It was in response to prostitution complaints received by the Birmingham police Vice Unit. This operation was also conducted to directly combat other crimes that are associated with the solicitation for prostitution."
Police started their operation Thursday afternoon and worked into the evening. Vice and Narcotics Lt. Ron Sellers said after receiving complaints about prostitution in several areas, they went to backpage.com and set up the undercover dates.
"Most of the girls were working out of hotel rooms,'' Sellers said. "We called them to come meet us."
Once they were together, the escort and the undercover officer discussed acts and prices. "Once that was completed,'' he said, "The officers moved in and made the arrest."
Prices these days can range anywhere from $100 for 15 minutes to two hours for $400. "It can be lucrative,'' Sellers said. "Everybody does it for their own reasons. It could be they are forced in to it, or they are supporting a drug habit. There is no one reason someone sells themselves for money."
Sellers said many of the women engaging in prostitution work in groups and travel circuits. "They may be in Birmingham this weekend, and in Memphis Monday,'' he said. "They move around, chasing sporting events and conventions. A lot of them will be gravitating toward Atlanta for the SEC Championship this weekend."
The prostitutes, Sellers said, are smart. "They've been arrested before and they want to make sure we aren't police officers,'' he said. "There's a line we can't cross and don't cross so it's like verbal Judo with us trying to convince them we're not police."
That's what led to the physical harassment charge against one of the women. It's a tactic to discover police because the women know the officers' boundaries. "If they reach down and try to grab, we're going to stop them and take them to jail,'' he said. "We just stop when that happens."
While many will argue that prostitution shouldn't be a crime, that no one is getting hurt, Sellers said that couldn't be farther from the truth. "There are a lot of other crimes associated with escorts,'' he said. "They deal in cash. They don't trust police. Not only is what they are doing illegal, these girls are easy targets for robbery."
Johns also are sometimes targeted for robbery. "We're trying to stop the crime,'' he said, "and we're trying to stop the criminal element for preying on them."
In May, Birmingham police arrested five suspected prostitutes at a Birmingham hotel. The women weren't just loitering around the hotel. Instead, they set up dates through a website and then would meet the johns.
In June, local and federal law enforcement officers made several arrests in connection with an online escort service last weekend, including one felony arrest for human trafficking, according to Birmingham police. The Birmingham Police Department's Vice Unit and the FBI went after escorts who posted on the website Backpage.com.
In that case, one man was charged with human trafficking.
A similar operation was recently carried out in Gadsden. People arrested there were also using backpage.com.
Those charged in Thursday's Birmingham sting are: Ashley P. Marshall, 25; Jacuelynn M. Reed, 24; Ashalah C. Miller, 29; Krystal G. Higgins, 31; Elisa D. Jaramillo, 29; and Edith R. Burks, 21.
All of the women are charged with soliciting for prostitution except Jaramillo, who is charged with physical harassment.
The crimes are misdemeanors, and bond for each is set at $500.
