June 2007

Police: Pair used Web site for sex dates:

Authorities say a Dallas couple used the popular Web site Craigslist to arrange money-for-sex dates for a 16-year-old girl.

The girl told investigators she was given rules: “not to talk to any other guys, give all money to suspects and she couldn’t come home until she had money,” court records state. “Complainant estimates she made up to $1,000 a night.”

Stacy Stidham, 23, and Tory Johnson, 29, face one felony count each of trafficking and compelling prostitution. Ms. Stidham also faces a count of possession of child pornography. Mr. Johnson faces one count of sexual assault of a child, as well as one count of possession of a controlled substance in an unrelated case.

According to court records, the teenager told police she had been staying with the couple and that she agreed to prostitute for them. She told police she worked for them from mid-January to early March.

Police said the girl was not a runaway. It was unclear why she was staying with the couple.

The girl told police that Ms. Stidham took photos of her with a camera phone and then downloaded them to a computer before posting them on Craigslist.

Users could look under the “services” section of Craigslist and click on “erotic” to see lewd photos of the girl, court records state.

The girl also told investigators that she had sex with Mr. Johnson, which court records say he has admitted to in a written statement.

“Her understanding of the arrangement was that suspect Johnson was the pimp and suspect Stidham was his bottom girl,” court records state.

A “bottom girl” is a prostitute who is the first among equals and helps run the business and collect money, authorities say.

The girl told the authorities that Ms. Stidham ran the “day-to-day business, and all the money was given to suspect Johnson” and that the couple drove her to two Dallas hotels for prostitution dates.

The alleged victim, now 17, faces a charge of prostitution in connection with a March offense.

Not suprisingly…

Craigslist officials could not be reached for comment.

If I were several state Attorney Generals I’d be more concerned about craigslist than MySpace. Then again the children of soccer moms don’t use craigslist so it won’t help them get elected.

Police accuse woman of running prostitution business:
32-year-old Shelly K. Lee was arrested for prostitution and possession of marijuana after Elmhurst, Illinois police found her ad as a “massage therapist” on craigslist.

Report: Counselor wanted to have sex with 12-year-old:
In Boulder, Colorado Casey Middle School counselor Michael Barta was arrested after a “professional escort” tipped off police about Barta’s desire to have sex with a 12-year-old girl.

She said she had provided services to the person she later found out was Barta. The report says she met him through Craigslist.

The unnamed woman told police, according to the report, she responded to an ad that said:

“I’m a professional male, fit and clean needing stress relief 2-3 times a week. I will be generous in exchange for 5-10 minutes of your time. Drop me a line please.”

During the third encounter with Barta, the report indicates he told her about his “deepest and darkest secret,” which was to have sex with a 12-year-old girl, according to the police report.

Police then set him up by replying to his ad posing as a woman.

Second suspect transported 16-year-old Allentown girl to New Jersey, police say.:
New Jersey State Police are looking for a second suspect in connection with the Allentown, PA teenagae girls being pimped out on craigslist. Police are looking for 27-year-old Kevin Mayfield, aka Bake.

Mayfield is charged with promoting prostitution and child pornography, and the fugitive’s bail is set at $150,000.

He is described as black, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds. He has brown eyes, black hair and tattoos on his left shoulder, both arms and his neck. Mayfield was last seen driving a 1999 Mercedes-Benz M320 sport utility vehicle with tinted windows and silver-rimmed wheels. The vehicle has a New Jersey registration, VAV 52M.

Police ask anyone with information on the whereabouts of Mayfield to contact the New Jersey State Police Casino Gaming Bureau at 609-441-7464.

Sentence suspended in Web prostitution bid:
Jesse Woodrow Cornwell III, 32, and Diana Carmine Cornwell, 35, will not face any jail time for prostitution. I orignally posted about the Cornwells here and here. To quickly recap Diane Cornwell was pregnant while turning tricks.

Jesse Woodrow Cornwell III, 32, and Diana Carmine Cornwell, 35, will be able to raise their 2-week-old baby themselves after being handed a one-year suspended jail sentence and three years’ unsupervised probation.

Though prosecutors had urged incarceration, District Judge Joseph D. Legum decided against that because this was the first offense for the Cornwells.

Attorneys for the Cornwells said the couple took out an ad on Craigslist in March because an injury forced Jesse Cornwell out of work as a subcontractor and they needed money to care for their first child, a 2-year-old who has Down syndrome. The family received food stamps but did not qualify for other state assistance, the attorneys said.

Did they ever think of…oh I don’t know…a legal job? Hell, even stripping is legal. Some guys are into that. I’ve heard.

Man Charged With Pimping Out Girls on Craigslist:
Casson Coward, 24, of Pleasantville, NJ (not too far from where I grew up) was arrested for pimping out two sisters, ages 14 and 16, from Allentown, PA on craigslist. The teens had been reported as missing.

L.I. Man Arrested in Craigslist Sex Sting:
Meanwhile in Long Island, Nassau County police have arrested 24-year-old Henry Groppe. Mr. Groppe placed an ad on craigslist looking for sex in exchange for drugs. Groppe thought he was going to meet a 16-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister. Since you’re reading this here you can guess that he really met the local police force. Groppe was also found with two bags of blow.

Man solicited sex from cop posing as 13-year-old on Craigslist:
Michael Sherman Harris, 46, has been convicted of soliciting sex from someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl on craigslist. Of course it was really a police detective. He’s looking at a max of four years when sentenced on July 25th.

Brookline teen in court after allegedly offering erotic massages:
This is a follow up to the story about the alleged craigslist hooker who was running her business from her mother’s home where mom operated a daycare. Vibeke Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to a charge of prostitution and released on her own recognizance.

Women charged as prostitutes after advertising on Craigslist:
Julie A. Murawski, 44, and Holly L. Arnold, 20, were both arrested in the Chicago area in separate incidents in an area uncdercover sting targeting craigslist prostitutes.