Medford Man Among 104 Charged With Soliciting Prostitutes

This article was written by Geoffrey Walter. 

A 39-year-old Medford man was among 104 men arrested and charged with soliciting sex in a month-long sting operation according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office Monday.

The DA's office in conjunction with the Nassau County Police Department conducted a month-long sting to arrange meetings with undercover police officers posing as prostitutes using the website Backpage.com between April 18 and May 24, resulting in the 104 arrests. Each defendant faces a maximum of one year in jail if convicted of the charge.

Visual and audio footage of each meeting was captured by hidden cameras during the sting located in the hotel rooms that served as the scene of the stings.

The Nassau County Police Department placed online ads on Backpage.com advertising escort services provided by both women and men. Each ad provided a phone number, and patrons called to arrange a rendezvous with an escort at a local hotel or motel where undercover officers had wired rooms with cameras. When the johns arrived, they met an officer posing as a prostitute, and once money was offered for sex, they were arrested and charged.

“Not only do people have a right to know who their prosecutors and police are arresting and charging with crimes, but we know that the commission of this specific crime is dramatically affected by the perceived risk of getting caught,” Nassau DA Kathleen Rice said in a release. “We are giving fair warning to johns that the risk is growing rapidly.”