York Region men caught up in underage prostitute sting5 hours ago| By Jeremy Grimaldi
Underage prostitution sting
Prostitution is known as the oldest profession in the world.
But despite all the warnings about how the trade impacts women and how much of the riches go to pimps, it continues to be as popular as ever.
In modern times, police focused their time targeting the prostitutes rather than johns.
That failed strategy has slowly started to shift, as investigators realized it's the demand that drives the industry, not the supply.
Then came 2014's Bill C-36, which delivered a strong message: Canada's prostitution law is no longer about public nuisance, rather the protection of vulnerable persons
York Regional Police's VICE squad, which has not charged a sex worker in more than seven years, took this as a sign that action was needed.
Sponsored by National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco
More than just cheap cigarettes: Ontario’s black market in contraband tobacco
And so its members did.
In two separate stings over the past two years York police's VICE squad has been posing online as underage prostitutes and arresting men that hire and then try to meet up.
In all, 32 were charged with a variety of offences including luring.
During the first sting last year, York cops made 10 arrests.
They made an additional 22 more in four nights last week.
In each case, the men had hired the prostitutes, discovered their age, 16, and had plans to meet them at hotels around the region, including Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.
The clients never got that far.
Once the johns, aged between 18 and 54, opened the door to the room, they were arrested and charged with luring and arrangement with a child for the purpose of sexual services and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.
Justice was swift and harsh against four men who were arrested last year and chose to plead guilty.
Each was handed a sentence ranging between two and seven months in prison, along with between two and three years probation.
Some were placed on the sex offenders registry for 10 years and others have had to hand over DNA samples.
Those who haven't pled guilty continue to work their way through the justice system.
If there's one positive in the information garnered by those working undercover, it's that between 80 and 90 per cent of the johns who discovered the 'girl' was underage, did not engage.
For the rest, Det. Sgt. Peter Casey has little sympathy.
"Some of the messages would shock and disturb general public," he said. "We consider these men to be exploiters. Each and every one of the 32 knew exactly what they were purchasing and had lots of opportunity to disengage from the transaction."
He said he's not concerned about detailing exactly how police are arresting these men because he considers it a "warning" of sorts to the men who hire prostitutes.
"The person you are texting may be a cop," he said. "It's meant as a caution. Maybe they'll think twice before they start seeking someone in the sex trade, especially someone who is underage."
This was similar to a warning he gave to johns via yorkregion.com in February 2014, when he said: "I want to issue a caution to any johns out there who want to solicit sex trade workers," he said. "If a john was to find himself with a minor, he would be arrested, before the courts and facing a minimum six months conviction. That's a real possibility."
As for those arrested, Det. Sgt. Casey said the men used a vernacular and acronyms in the back and forth messages that indicated to him that they were not unfamiliar with prostitution.
"It's my belief that a majority of these johns are familiar with the industry," he said. "It's also my view that these johns know that anyone 15 or 16 years old are not woking willfully or on their own. In actual fact, they are contributing to the income of the pimp and exploitation of young women."
However, he said his message is not only to those seeking young girls, rather all johns.
"It's still illegal to hire a prostitute – we have just been focusing on young and vulnerable," he added.
As for those involved in the sex trade, he said many of these girls are from broken homes, while others are from middle class families that are lured into the industry by men posing as boyfriends.
"Anyone with any common sense knows a 16-year-old is not doing this work independently," he said.
Although he refused to speculate what percentage of women in the sex trade were underage, he said a recent project showed about 30 per cent of the women they interacted with were under 18.
Five of the men charged are from Markham, three from Richmond Hill, three from Whitchurch-Stouffville and two from Bradford.
http://m.yorkregion.com/news-story/6098731-york-region-men-caught-up-in-underage-prostitute-sting
Underage prostitution sting
Prostitution is known as the oldest profession in the world.
But despite all the warnings about how the trade impacts women and how much of the riches go to pimps, it continues to be as popular as ever.
In modern times, police focused their time targeting the prostitutes rather than johns.
That failed strategy has slowly started to shift, as investigators realized it's the demand that drives the industry, not the supply.
Then came 2014's Bill C-36, which delivered a strong message: Canada's prostitution law is no longer about public nuisance, rather the protection of vulnerable persons
York Regional Police's VICE squad, which has not charged a sex worker in more than seven years, took this as a sign that action was needed.
Sponsored by National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco
More than just cheap cigarettes: Ontario’s black market in contraband tobacco
And so its members did.
In two separate stings over the past two years York police's VICE squad has been posing online as underage prostitutes and arresting men that hire and then try to meet up.
In all, 32 were charged with a variety of offences including luring.
During the first sting last year, York cops made 10 arrests.
They made an additional 22 more in four nights last week.
In each case, the men had hired the prostitutes, discovered their age, 16, and had plans to meet them at hotels around the region, including Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.
The clients never got that far.
Once the johns, aged between 18 and 54, opened the door to the room, they were arrested and charged with luring and arrangement with a child for the purpose of sexual services and obtaining sexual services from a person under 18.
Justice was swift and harsh against four men who were arrested last year and chose to plead guilty.
Each was handed a sentence ranging between two and seven months in prison, along with between two and three years probation.
Some were placed on the sex offenders registry for 10 years and others have had to hand over DNA samples.
Those who haven't pled guilty continue to work their way through the justice system.
If there's one positive in the information garnered by those working undercover, it's that between 80 and 90 per cent of the johns who discovered the 'girl' was underage, did not engage.
For the rest, Det. Sgt. Peter Casey has little sympathy.
"Some of the messages would shock and disturb general public," he said. "We consider these men to be exploiters. Each and every one of the 32 knew exactly what they were purchasing and had lots of opportunity to disengage from the transaction."
He said he's not concerned about detailing exactly how police are arresting these men because he considers it a "warning" of sorts to the men who hire prostitutes.
"The person you are texting may be a cop," he said. "It's meant as a caution. Maybe they'll think twice before they start seeking someone in the sex trade, especially someone who is underage."
This was similar to a warning he gave to johns via yorkregion.com in February 2014, when he said: "I want to issue a caution to any johns out there who want to solicit sex trade workers," he said. "If a john was to find himself with a minor, he would be arrested, before the courts and facing a minimum six months conviction. That's a real possibility."
As for those arrested, Det. Sgt. Casey said the men used a vernacular and acronyms in the back and forth messages that indicated to him that they were not unfamiliar with prostitution.
"It's my belief that a majority of these johns are familiar with the industry," he said. "It's also my view that these johns know that anyone 15 or 16 years old are not woking willfully or on their own. In actual fact, they are contributing to the income of the pimp and exploitation of young women."
However, he said his message is not only to those seeking young girls, rather all johns.
"It's still illegal to hire a prostitute – we have just been focusing on young and vulnerable," he added.
As for those involved in the sex trade, he said many of these girls are from broken homes, while others are from middle class families that are lured into the industry by men posing as boyfriends.
"Anyone with any common sense knows a 16-year-old is not doing this work independently," he said.
Although he refused to speculate what percentage of women in the sex trade were underage, he said a recent project showed about 30 per cent of the women they interacted with were under 18.
Five of the men charged are from Markham, three from Richmond Hill, three from Whitchurch-Stouffville and two from Bradford.
http://m.yorkregion.com/news-story/6098731-york-region-men-caught-up-in-underage-prostitute-sting
