Latest Prostitution Stories

By Stephen Hunt, The Salt Lake Tribune Jul. 12--Former Doll House escort service owner Santiago Steven Maese was convicted Friday of running the business as a prostitution ring. After the verdict, Maese said "I believe the jury was mistaken." He said he would appeal. A five-man, three-woman jury deliberated 4 1/2 hours before returning the verdict. The 31-year-old Holladay man faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 8 by 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy. Maese was...

By Vin Suprynowicz Tourists keep writing in to complain about all those illegal immigrants bracing them on the sidewalks along the Strip, pushing those little fliers and cards into their hands, the ones with photos of young babes in provocative poses: "Straight to Your Room, just dial 1-800-BOOBs." To their credit, the complainants rarely object to the risque poses or the nature of the services offered. They complain primarily about the unsightly litter - most of these solicitations end up...

By Adam Crisp, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. Jun. 2--Prostitutes, pimps and johns are the target of a Chattanooga Web site aimed at reducing streetwalkers in the city's Main Street corridor. Organizers of www.trickthejohns.com want everyday folks to take pictures of suspected prostitutes and their customers then post the photos on the Web site. "Prostitution has been around forever," said Jay Craven, one of about 20 neighbors who thought up the idea for the site. "It's not going...

It may be the world's oldest profession, but prostitution is using some 21st-century tricks.The prostitution scandal involving New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer lays bare some of the inner workings of modern-day sex work: text messaging to clock in the client, electronic fund transfers, a Web site featuring color photos, prices and rankings.There's always been a distinction between indoor and street-level prostitution, and advances in technology have increasingly separated the two, said Ronald...

By Eric Frazier and Victoria Cherrie, The Charlotte Observer, N.C. Nov. 17--Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Sgt. Craig Conger sits at a computer screen, clicking through pictures of naked women. He's doing his job, overseeing detectives who keep tabs on the kind of high-priced prostitutes who ply their trade on the Internet rather than the street corner. The recent bust of a suspected call-girl service in Charlotte has offered a glimpse into the secretive world of high-end prostitution....

By Art Campos, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Sep. 12--Seven men were arrested in a recent sting operation in Roseville in which an undercover vice officer posed as a prostitute and advertised her services on the Internet, police reported. The men responded to the ad, met with the officer at a prearranged location Sept. 5 and were arrested when they solicited her for sex, said Dee Dee Gunther, a police spokeswoman. Each of the men was booked into the Placer County jail in Auburn on a charge...

By Stephen T. Watson As visitors to her Web site can see, Cindeee is eager to please the right kind of gentleman. The Buffalo-area escort has a sophisticated Internet home, offering photos of her in skimpy lingerie and a rich description of what she offers customers. The site even boasts a list of her prices, an interactive schedule of her future availability and links to reviews from clients. "I will provide for you a unique, unforgettable experience - whether it may be a simple dinner...

Wendy Shalit is loathed by a certain kind of feminist. When as a twentysomething college graduate she published her first book, "A Return to Modesty," she was scorned by the Nation's Katha Pollitt as a "twit," a "professional virgin" who should be given the task of designing "new spandex chadors for female Olympians." Others were less civil. Shalit, who had raised eyebrows even while at Williams College for opposing co-ed bathrooms in student dorms, has now probably put herself even further...

By Clint Swett, The Sacramento Bee, Calif. Mar. 23--In the wake of an FBI raid on the home of a Sacramento photographer for allegedly posting photos of underage prostitutes on craigslist, experts said the huge online classified site has no responsibility for policing such behavior. In fact, federal law specifically exempts online services from such liability, said Lauren Gelman, associate director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University Law School. Gelman said the...

By ALEXIS HUICOCHEAThe oldest profession is moving from the street corner to the Internet. It's the latest trend in prostitution, Tucson police say: Men and women using online classified ad Web sites like craigslist.org to offer or request sex for money. The new twist is making it more difficult for undercover officers to combat, said a Tucson police vice sergeant. Not only are there dozens of explicit ads placed daily on Tucson's craigslist site, but the Internet provides a relatively safe...