[News] [IN, USA] IMPD, Greenwood police team for prostitution sting
Stephanie Stevens
IMPD, Greenwood police team for prostitution sting
Updated: Wednesday, 18 Jan 2012, 3:34 PM EST
Published : Wednesday, 18 Jan 2012, 3:29 PM EST
Staff Reports
[Photo: <http://bit.ly/zzHfSN> Alannah Gonzalez]
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) - With heightened focus on sex crimes and human
trafficking in the run-up to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis next
month, two police departments teamed Tuesday in an undercover sting
targeting transsexual prostitution services advertised on a widely
used website.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Vice Squad contacted
Greenwood Police Department on Tuesday regarding an ad on a website
used for escort/prostitution services. They believed the person who
posted the ad was offering services in the Greenwood area, as an
undercover detective had contacted the listed number and was directed
to the Red Roof Inn, 110 Sheek Road, Greenwood.
The two departments then arranged an undercover operation later that
afternoon, contacted the suspect again and arranged a meeting at the
motel. A person appearing to be a Hispanic female met them there and
agreed to perform a sex act for money, police said. At that point, the
suspect, actually identified as Alannah Gonzalez, 24, a male from
Corpus Christi, Texas, was arrested.
The ad that sparked the sting was listed in the transsexual section of
the website, and Gonzalez told police he had undergone multiple breast
implant procedures.
Another person was found hiding - nearly naked - in the bathroom at
Gonzalez’s room at the motel, but Gonzalez told police he was just a
friend, and he was released without charges.
Gonzalez was arrested on a preliminary charge of prostitution and was
taken to the Johnson County Jail, but was released on bond.
The joint undercover operation comes as state officials and lawmakers
have their sights set on curtailing the commercial sex trade in the
run-up to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. During a law
enforcement training session last fall, state Attorney General Greg
Zoeller noted big events such as the Super Bowl can lead to an
increased demand for the illegal sex trade, and some of people used to
fill that demand are the victims of human trafficking.
Earlier this month the Senate approved a bill to toughen penalties for
trafficking, particularly for cases involving children younger than
16.
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