December 23, 2005

Back to the Table of Contents Page

Back to the Weekly Home Page

Classifieds

Publication Date: Friday, December 23, 2005

Police Bulletin

Seven people--five women and two men--were arrested for prostitution Dec. 14 at Motel 6 on Hopyard Road during an undercover sting investigation organized by the Pleasanton Police Department. Officers contacted numerous listings on Craig's List and My Red Book, a personal advertisement Web site, that advertised women who were willing to perform sexual acts in exchange for money, police said. The police department only contacted ads that suggested meeting places in Pleasanton, said Sergeant Don Saulsbury of the Special Investigations Unit. Police called the phone numbers listed in the ads and five women responded to the calls. They met with an undercover officer and once a price and act were negotiated, constituting a solicitation of prostitution, the women were arrested, police said. Two men were also arrested for aiding a prostitute.

"Locally, using the Internet is a new spin on prostitution," Saulsbury said. "It's a relatively new age of the profession. I don't know if I have a handle on how prevalent it is."

The women and men arrested in the sting were from Castro Valley, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, Emeryville, Berkeley and Alameda.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.