Everett, WA
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Auto Seizure | ✓ |
Buyer Arrests | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Community Service | ✓ |
Employment Loss | ✓ |
Identity Disclosure | ✓ |
IT Based Tactics | ✓ |
John School | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
License Suspension | ✓ |
Neighborhood Action | ✓ |
Public Education | ✓ |
Reverse Stings | ✓ |
SOAP Orders | ✓ |
Web Stings | ✓ |
Everett is a city of 112,000 residents located in Snohomish County, Washington, just 25 miles north of Seattle. It has a population of roughly 112,000 residents. Among the problems associated with the local commercial sex market have been the sexual exploitation of minors and targeted sexual assault against prostituted women. For example, in October 2018, the FBI Seattle Division Child Exploitation Task Force (CETF) and their partners conducted an operation in Everett to recover juvenile victims of sex trafficking and identify subjects suspected of commercially exploiting children and/or adults. The CETF identified 11 adult females and two juvenile females who were being exploited through prostitution. The CETF also recorded at least one case of targeted assault on a prostituted woman. Additionally, they reported a case where a prostituted woman shot a sex buyer in the head with a pistol.
In an effort to address the demand for commercial sex, The Everett Police Department and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office have worked together to execute reverse sting operations in the community since at least 1988. The EPD has also implemented web-based reverse sting operations, beginning in 1995. Since 1993, individuals arrested for prostitution or soliciting prostitution in Everett are subject to geographic probation restrictions (SOAP Orders). This means that sex buyers can be ordered to stay away from well-known marketplaces for drugs and prostitution and, if found there, can be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.
In addition to street-level reverse sting operations, more recent efforts have included web-based reverse sting operations. For example, in 2017, the EPD conducted a web-based reverse sting that resulted in the arrest of eight male sex buyers, ranging in age from 26 to 60 years old, after they allegedly attempted to arrange to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex in response to an online ad. In this same sting, a middle school teacher was arrested and pleaded guilty to communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. Additionally, a bus driver for the school district was arrested and pleaded guilty in the case. The identities of the arrestees were publicly disclosed.
In May 2021, a 32-year-old man was found guilty of human trafficking, leading organized crime, and four counts of promoting prostitution. Near the end of May 2019, the Criminal Intelligence Unit partnered with Everett police and the Snohomish County Regional Drug Task Force to organize an operation targeting sex buyers in Everett. During the operation, two prostituted women were discovered. Detectives learned that the women were being trafficked out of a car with another female victim. The man who was trafficking them moved from city to city, forcing them to prostitute at night and keeping their belongings and money so they were forced to rely on him.
Key Partners
Key Sources
Street-Level Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “15 Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Seattle Times, November 5 1991.
- “Everett Cracks down on ‘Johns,’ Prostitutes,” Seattle Times, November 12 1993.
- “Seven Men Accused of Soliciting Sex,” Seattle Times, May 25 1995.
- “7 Arrested in Prostitute Sting,” Seattle Times, April 27 1996.
- “Five Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Seattle Times, October 24 1996.
- “Vice Unit Arrests 6 in Everett,” Seattle Times, June 28 1997.
- “Eight Men Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Seattle Times, November 7 1997.
- “Jail Time for Prostitution,” Ellensburg Daily Record, January 17 1998.
- https://www.heraldnet.com/news/prostitution-sting-in-everett-brings-in-seven-johns/ (2002)
- “City Sting Targets Johns,” Everett Daily Herald, September 29 2007.
- “Should Prostitution Be Legalized?” Seattle Examiner, January 26 2011.
- Man convicted in sex trafficking case following ‘John’ sting operation (2019)
- Everett Police “John Sting” Leads To Conviction For Sex Trafficking (2021)
Web-Based Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
SOAP Orders:
- “Police Battle Prostitution with Letter,” Eugene Register-Guard, September 14 1997.
- “Jail Time for Prostitution,” Ellensburg Daily Record, January 17 1998.
- “Everett Expands Stay Out of Drug and Prostitution Areas,” My Everett News, December 18 2013.
- https://www.heraldnet.com/everett-adjusts-boundaries-of-prostitution-zones/ (2013)
- “Nicer Weather Means More Prostitutes and Johns Trolling Everett’s Streets,” My Everett News, May 14 2014.
Neighborhood Action:
Cameras:
- “Smile! The Police Are Watching You; Everett Cameras Combat Crime,” Seattle Times, July 24 1997.
- “Focus on Everett Crime Fight Is on Surveillance Cameras,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 9 1998.
- “Crime-Fighting Cameras?” Seattle Times, July 14 1998.
- “Police Cameras to Keep Watch, Security vs. Privacy an Issue in Everett,” Seattle Times, February 2 2000.
John School (discontinued):
Proposed Identity Disclosure:
- “Everett Councilman Proposes Shame as Prostitution Punishment,” Everett Daily Herald, September 4 2007.
- “Prostitutes’ Customers Won’t Go on TV; Ron Gipson’s Plan to Shame Men Convicted of Soliciting Prostitutes Raised Legal Questions,” Everett Daily Herald, January 10 2008.
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- Ad on Craigslist really a sex sting (2006)
- “Washington Man Indicted on Prostitution Charges,” Moscow-Pullman Daily News, November 28 2007.
- “Everett Man Gets 26-Year Prison Term for Pimping; Everett Man Must Pay Nearly $70,000 to 3 Women Who Worked for Him as Prostitutes,” Everett Daily Herald, September 30 2008.
- “Everett Man Gets over 6 Years for Forcing Woman into Prostitution,” Tacoma News Tribune, May 1 2010.
- “Teen Missing after Testimony against Pimp,” Seattle Times, December 19 2010.
- “Natalie’s Story: Life as a Child Prostitute,” Seattle Times, July 23 2011.
- “2 Pierce County Men Accused of Using Girls as Prostitutes,” Seattle Times, November 13 2012.
- “16-Year-Old among ‘Bikini Baristas’ Arrested in Everett,” NBC/KING-TV 5, February 20 2013.
- “County Investigating 45 Ongoing Human Sex Trafficking Cases,” Everett Daily Herald, June 26 2015.
- “Sex Traffickers Arrested after Bringing Women from Las Vegas to Everett,” My Everett News, July 14 2015.
- Task Force Operation in Everett Recovers 13 Victims of Sex Trafficking in Washington State (2018)
- FBI Says Sex Trafficking Victims Recovered In Everett-Based Operation (2018)
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “12 Women Arrested in Westside Prostitution Investigation,” Spokane Chronicle, June 13 1985.
- “Prostitution Ring Bridged 2 States,” Bend Bulletin, October 28 1987.
- “Anti-Prostitution Sting Nets 3,” Seattle Times, May 25 1996.
- “Two Men Charged with Running Brothel,” Moscow-Pullman Daily News, April 12 2004.
- “Online Escort Ad Prompts Sex Sting, Police Arrest Five Women and a Teenage Girl after Learning about Sex-for-Hire Ads,” Everett Daily Herald, May 20 2006.
- “Sex Sting Snares Tanning Business; An Everett Salon May Have Been a Front for Prostitution, Police Say,” Everett Daily Herald, February 7 2007.
- “Local Briefly: 3 Arrested in Prostitution Case at Honey’s Club,” Everett Daily Herald, April 8 2008.
- “5 Everett Baristas Accused of Prostitution,” Seattle Times, September 24 2009.
- “3 Teens Rescued from Prostitution in State Bust,” Seattle Times, July 31 2013.
- “Prostitution Plea in Barista Sex Case in Everett,” Seattle Times, September 2 2014.
- “FBI, Local Law Enforcement Carry out Prostitution Sting in Everett,” Bonneville Seattle, October 13 2015.
- Finding answers to Snohomish County’s sexual slavery problem (2015)
- https://drgnews.com/federal-judge-rules-in-favor-of-bikini-baristas-over-dress/ (2023)
- https://myeverettnews.com/everett-settles-bikini-barista-lawsuits-500k-added-protections-for-baristas/ (2023)
Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Against Odds, Raped Prostitute Finds Justice; Gun-Wielding Customer Headed for Prison because Call Girl Trusted Legal System,” Seattle Times, October 23 1997.
- Escort accused of shooting Everett client in the head (2020)
State | Washington |
Type | City |
Population | 109766 |
Location |
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