Montana Prostitution Sting Successful
Many of you know how I feel about prostitution and about sex trafficking. While I know there are women out there who are choosing to sell their bodies on their own accord, that is not the case for most who are stuck in that life. An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 are trafficked out of the United States annually and of that 80% are female and 50% are minors. This doesn't account for those who are trafficked within the United States alone.
While most people separate prostitution as choice and sex trafficking as not a choice, it is actually incredible common for those being sex trafficked to be prostitutes. So, anytime I see an article about prostitution rings being busted, people responding to online adds or police stings to catch people... I'm a pretty happy camper. This is the article that was posted on BillingsGazette.com :
KALISPELL — Seven men received misdemeanor citations for responding to a fake online advertisement for prostitutes in northwestern Montana.
Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry says the ad ran on April 17 and 18 and received 145 emails and 60 text messages. Seven men arranged to meet a woman and were cited when they showed up at a local motel.
The operation was a combined effort by the sheriff's office, Kalispell police, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Northwest Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations.
Curry says the agencies set up the sting in response to an increase in sex trafficking in northwestern Montana.
Curry noted that prostitution can involve adults and minors who are victimized and participating against their will.The names of those cited were not released.