Westbury, NY
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 | ✓ |
Westbury is a village in Nassau County, New York, located on Long Island about 20 miles east of Manhattan. It is an incorporated village within the Town of North Hempstead, and has a population of about 16,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been identified as substantial and longstanding problems in many areas of Long Island, including North Hempstead, Westbury, and throughout Nassau County. The area has hosted high-end, international prostitution or “escort” services, as well as low-level local and regional operations facilitated by Craigslist and Backpage (and other websites), and the laundering of money gained through prostitution and sex trafficking. Problems associated with prostitution throughout both Nassau and neighboring Suffolk County include child sex trafficking, as well as at least two serial killers and possibly single-victim murderers who specifically targeted prostituted women. At least 10 prostituted women were murdered in the county on Long Island in the 2000s alone.
In an effort to reduce the demand for prostitution in the area, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Department has conducted both street-level and web-based stings. Beginning in 2007, the police began using Craigslist and Backpage for web-based reverse stings. In early June 2013, a month-long set of web-based operations using Backpage.com resulted in the arrest of 104 men, whose names were publicized by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office in an identity disclosure effort entitled “Flush the Johns.”
In August 2018, a man who went to a Westbury motel to purchase sex was arrested after he stabbed another man during a physical altercation. The arrest occurred at a motel on Taylor Ave. after the suspect became involved in a verbal argument with another man, which escalated to a physical assault with a knife. He was charged with second-degree assault, first-degree attempted assault, two counts of second-degree attempted assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree possession of a dangerous weapon and third-degree patronizing a prostitute, and he was arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead. The man’s identity was publicized.
In June 2014, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced that they had partnered with human trafficking advocacy groups The Safe Center LI and Sanctuary for Families to establish “a program designed to educate defendants charged with prostitution-related offenses how demand fuels the sex trade and impacts human trafficking overall.” The two-hour program, entitled The Real Effects of Sale, Exploitation, and Trafficking Program (or RESET), consists of a one-day class that “educates defendants about the impact of demand on human trafficking, the correlation between child sexual abuse and prostitution, the background of women who are forced into prostitution, and the role the [sex buyer] plays in the victimization of prostitutes.” The course was made available to sex buyers recently charged and/or convicted of the misdemeanor charge of patronizing a prostitute. Buyers who successfully completed the program, paid a “tuition” fee, and completed 35 hours of community service could have their charges reduced to disorderly conduct (a non-criminal violation). Only first time offenders were eligible to participate. According to media reports, the NCDA began considering a “john school” in early 2014; NCDA representatives reportedly inquired about the program in Brooklyn, NY in their fact-finding. In a press release, District Attorney Kathleen Rice stated:
“Prostitution is not a victimless crime and johns play an integral role in an industry full of victimization and violence. This program is another step in an ongoing and multipronged strategy of aggressive enforcement, public awareness, and innovative defendant education. We won’t be backing down from making cases that we know will save lives.”
In September 2014, Newsday reported that at least 80 of the 104 men arrested during the “Flush the Johns” campaign had pled guilty “to the lesser charge of disorderly conduct, a violation, which falls short of being a crime and does not show up on criminal records,” and were given mandatory community service and required to complete the two-hour course described above.
Key Partners
- Nassau County Sheriff’s Department
- Nassau County District Attorney’s Office
- Safe Center LI
- Sanctuary for Families
Key Sources
Arrest of Sex Buyer, Identity Disclosure:
- https://patch.com/new-york/halfhollowhills/dix-hills-man-accused-stabbing-man-patronizing-prostitute (2018)
Web-Based Reverse Stings with Identity Disclosure and Cameras:
- “Prostitution Targeted on Craigslist”, New York Times, August 31 2007.
- “As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist, Law Takes Notice”, New York Times, September 5 2007.
- “Reports Point to a Police Crackdown on the Craigslist Sex Trade”, New York Times, September 5 2007.
- “Nassau County Nabs 104 Johns Who Tried to Pay for Sex”, New York Daily News, June 4 2013.
- “New York State Prostitution Sting Busts 100 Men”, ABC/WBND-TV 57, June 4 2013.
- “N.Y. Police Arrest More than 100 During Sex Stings”, Officer.com, June 4 2013.
- “Convicted ‘John’ Sentenced to Five Days in Jail”, Newsday, April 4 2014.
- “Nassau Exploring ‘Johns School’ for Solicitation Busts”, Newsday, April 6 2014.
- “17 Flush the Johns Trials Possible as DA Sting Wraps Up”, Newsday, September 24 2014.
Identity Disclosure:
- “DA: Naming Johns Helps to Dismantle the Dangerous Business of Prostitution”, New York Daily News, June 4 2013.
- “Long Island Prosecutor IDs 104 Alleged Johns”, NBC/WBNC-TV 4, June 4 2013.
- “Naming Names in Prostitution Sting”, Island Now, June 4 2013.
- “In ‘Flush the Johns’ Case, Defense Spars with Prosecutors over Documents”, Newsday, April 29 2014.
- “17 Flush the Johns Trials Possible as DA Sting Wraps Up”, Newsday, September 24 2014.
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Inquiry on Nassau Judge’s ‘Massage’”, Newsday, June 11 1988.
- “Police Say 3 Used the Internet in Scam that Led to Prostitution”, New York Times, May 17 2003.
- “Another Rockaway Craigslist Prostitution Bust”, Rockaway Wave, May 30 2008.
- “Missing Teen Found During Prostitution Bust”, Newsday, December 21 2010.
- “Queens Couple Accused of Sex Trafficking,” Newsday, September 25 2015.
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Sex Tapes Shown”, Newburgh Evening News, July 27 1983.
- “Crack Addiction Is Forcing Prostitutes onto the Streets”, New York Times, February 18 1990.
- “Craigslist Punishes Naughty Erotic Advertisers”, ClickZ News, November 7 2008.
- “Feds: Massapequa Couple Laundered Money from Prostitution Ring”, Newsday, July 18 2013.
| State | New York |
| Type | City |
| Population | 15809 |
| Location |
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