Some thoughts on local LE activities
I ran across this link today, "The Anatomy of a Prostitution Sting Operation In Henrico Virginia", and found it pretty informative:
[URL]http://criminal-lawyervirginia.com/virginia-sex-crime-laws/anatomy-prostitution-sting-operation-henrico-virginia/[/URL]
This pretty much matches what a girl told me once. She'd gotten caught on an outcall in Henrico and worked as a sting decoy in exchange for a reduced charge. I found it interesting that she said some guys did manage to leave without ever seeing the cops because she couldn't get them to say anything incriminating, and her attempts to do so spooked them so they left.
That article explains how they get guys on incalls and girls on outcalls, so I was curious about the recent Star City Escorts bust. Those girls were incall only. We know from RVASpice's report ( [URL]http://www.usasexguide.info/forum/showthread.php?9229-BackPage-Advertiser-Reviews&p=2041711&viewfull=1#post2041711[/URL]) that they talked to a monger, presumably after he visited one of the girls, and I think we can assume he told them everything, yet the girls weren't charged with being prostitutes. Strange, right?
I think that's because, as I read on another forum, Virginia code 19-2.81 ( [URL]http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+19.2-81[/URL]) lists crimes a cop can arrest you for without you committing the crime in his presence, and prostitution isn't one of them (in Maryland, apparently it is).
Instead, they were charged with keeping / residing in a bawdy place. Look at the fucking vague definition for that: "'bawdy place' shall mean any place within or without any building or structure which is used or is to be used for lewdness, assignation or prostitution." ( [URL]https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-347[/URL]) So if the guy tells them he just had sex in the girl's room, that's surely either lewdness or assignation, so they can now say her room is a bawdy place and go find her residing in that room, in their presence, and arrest her on that charge. Then of course they can charge her with anything else she subsequently admits to or they find in her room.
Of course if everyone keeps their mouth shut, it won't work, but here in the real world, I bet this is a really effective tactic. Looking at the past month's Henrico arrest report, the majority of the charges against women are that bawdy place charge.
It seems it may be a shift in tactics, too. I knew another girl who got caught a few years ago in her motel in Henrico. They kicked in the door and told her they'd been watching her room for days and knew what she was doing. She refused to admit anything and all they charged her with was marijuana possession for the joint she'd been rolling. No mention of talking to any of her customers, no bawdy place charge.
And unfortunately it looks like the days of areas outside of Henrico being safer may be numbered. That article, from 11/2013, mentions "the Henrico vice squad has become quite proficient and has recently assisted in training a similar unit with the Chesterfield County Police Department".
This article from last Thursday also had some relevant tidbits:
[URL]http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/henrico-gets-conviction-in-fight-against-prostitution/article_cdd46556-95ce-5828-8d6d-8a3f9c038dfd.html[/URL]
It mentions "'We've been successful enough where this is going to have to turn into a regional effort because people are learning that in Henrico, you're going to get arrested,' Feinmel said.".
It seems pretty much all they have to do is find out where a girl's staying, then watch it until they can grab a guy leaving and get him to talk. And the finding's getting easier for them, too: "Merchants are not hesitating to alert police when someone shows up with multiple females in tow and a trail of men arriving at all hours of the night. 'They are calling us and telling us what they see,' he said of Henrico innkeepers.".
I'd be curious to know what they threaten a guy with to get him to talk, and I'd love to hear from a lawyer whether there's any truth to those threats.