Cruising down Beach Boulevard last month, in broad daylight just five days before Christmas, he spotted a woman who appeared to be a street prostitute. Clueless about her real identity, the man in the Audi made her an offer in exchange for the sex act:.
Men in cars solicited the undercover officers for sex within minutes of them taking turns walking from the motel, past a bus stop and to a corner strip mall. Chris Cooper said. By the end of the operation, the APD had arrested 11 men the crime they are accused of is a misdemeanor.
The task force takes a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach β a stark contrast to how those working in the sex trade were perceived in the past: as criminals.
APD Sgt. Juan Revelas, who has run the law enforcement component of OCHTTF since , participated in the John sting, keeping his eyes on the female undercover officers as they strolled down the street and effortlessly attracted potential clients.
Just before 3 p. Street prostitution is one piece of the sex trafficking pie, Cooper explained. Some Johns prefer to hook up with prostitutes over the Internet and meet in high-end hotels. Others prefer to visit illicit massage parlors. Others are out-of-town convention-goers looking for sex.
