Authorities charge 7 women for soliciting sex on Craigslist

A website well known in the east, may be offering more than just jobs and classified ads. It’s being used to sell sex. Lenoir County Deputies are watching the new sex businesses popping up on Craigslist. Detectives say the women do it to pay for school, support their kids, or to help pay for drugs.

Detectives found an ad about visiting Pleasureville on Craigslist. The ad shows a naked girl in a bathtub.

The ad reads, “Hi Gentlemen. My name is Charity. I'm here to cater to respectful, classy, and generous men with warm, down to earth companionship”. While this ad is suggestive, it did not blatantly promise sex for money. It was after the undercover detective called the number on the ad that they say sex services came into play.

“We would get anywhere from a 2 to 5 minute conversation, let them know what our intent was...what we were wanting to purchase,” the undercover detective explained.

After setting up meetings, Lenoir County officers charged a total of 7 women ages ranging from 19 to 42 with soliciting sex. The postings were filed under Erotic Services for Eastern North Carolina.

“Back in the days, you know, we were used to seeing women soliciting by way of standing on the street corner, or you know, walking up and down the streets...times have changed,” the undercover detective says.

“They don't know law enforcement is looking. That we're paying attention to the internet and we are,” Major Chris Hill, with the Lenior County Sheriff’s Office explains.

The women come from all over the state. “She negotiated a price of $250 to come from Greenville to meet me here in Kinston in a motel room,” the undercover detective says.

Detectives say an anonymous call, led them to discover the hidden ads on Craigslist. Now, they're waiting to expose more online sex for sale. This investigation took about 8 months.

Officers also arrested two men in the sting. They arrested Kenneth Melton for soliciting prostitution and Thomas Deramus for transportation for prostitution. Detectives say some of the women face additional charges for drugs.

Response from Craigslist:

“Misuse of craigslist for illegal purposes is unacceptable. The incidence of crime on craigslist is actually very low, considering the tens of millions of ads that are posted each month, and together with craigslist users and law enforcement we are working continually to eliminate it.

For more about our "erotic services" category, and what craigslist is doing to combat illegal activity, check here:

http://www.craigslist.org/about/erotic.services.html

Thanks,

Susan Mactavish Best
Best Public Relations on behalf of Craigslist