Arapahoe County, CO
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Arapahoe County the third-most populous county in Colorado, with over 640,000 residents. The county seat is Littleton, and the most populous city is Aurora (with over 365,000 residents). Parts of the county have been well-known outdoor prostitution “strolls.” Prostitution and associated street crime and blight have been concentrated on Colfax Avenue, which runs through both Aurora and Denver. At the extreme end of the scale, several serial killers specifically targeting prostituted women have operated in the city from the 1970s through 1990s. Other prostitution-related homicides include a john who was killed by police when resisting arrest during a sting operation.
Among the efforts to address problems associated with the local commercial sex market have been efforts to combat demand. Reverse stings have been conducted since at least 1988, many of them joint operations with the Denver and Aurora Police Departments, and most focusing on street-level prostitution.
Web-based reverse stings have occurred since at least 2016, especially focused on apprehending those seeking to buy sex with children. For example, in June 2016, Aurora police arrested seven men during a web-based undercover child prostitution sting. Each man was arrested on suspicion of soliciting for child prostitution and for criminal attempt to commit patronizing a prostituted child, and faced sentences of four to 12 years in prison, and would be required to register as sex offenders if convicted. The men’s identities were posted on the police department’s Facebook page. All seven were booked into the Arapahoe County Jail.
Police began publicizing the identities of arrested sex buyers in 1995, by taking out ad space in the weekly Aurora Sentinel. The city of Aurora sent police officers to San Francisco in 1997 to investigate the feasibility of starting a john school such as the First Offender Prostitution Program, but it was never established (although Denver has had a john school from 1999 to present). Some men arrested for buying sex have been placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.
Cameras have also been used to gather evidence used to prosecute sex buyers. For example, in 2012 a news report discussed how Aurora police used cameras on Colfax Avenue to capture evidence of purchasing sex. In 2017, the body camera of a code enforcement officer in Aurora captured two separate exchanges in which the officer tried to purchase sex from women in prostitution; the man pleaded guilty to one count of soliciting prostitution, a Class 3 misdemeanor, in Arapahoe County court and was sentenced to six months probation and 60 hours of community service in the case.
Key Partners
- Arapahoe County District Court
- Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office
- Aurora Police Department
- Denver Police Department
- FBI Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force
Key Sources
Reverse Stings:
- “Aurora Prostitution Sting Nets 15 Arrests”, Rocky Mountain News, July 21 1990.
- “Prostitution Sting Is Called ‘Success’”, Rocky Mountain News, July 22 1990.
- “Aurora Sting Nabs 19 ‘Johns’; First Test of Policy on Photos to Follow”, Denver Post, September 8 1994.
- “Suspects Face New Humiliation; 20 Men Arrested During Aurora ‘John’ Sting to Be First to Appear in Ads”, Rocky Mountain News, February 23 1995.
- “Aurora Has a Surprise for Prostitutes, Johns”, Denver Post, April 6 1995.
- “5 Johns Plead Guilty After Sting”, Denver Post, April 14 1995.
- “Three-City Prostitution Sting Nets 63 Suspects”, Denver Post, May 18 1995.
- “‘Johns’ Arrested in Aurora Sting”, Rocky Mountain News, January 19 1996.
- “Hooking Crackdown Gets 21 Men in Trouble”, Rocky Mountain News, April 20 1996.
- “Man Killed in Prostitution Sting; Aurora Officer Shoots Suspect at Colfax Motel”, Denver Post, December 4 2003.
- “Undercover Video Shows Ex-Sheriff’s Arrest”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, April 4 2012.
Web-Based Reverse Stings, Shaming:
Shaming:
- “Beset By Hookers, Colorado City to Publish Pictures of ‘Johns’”, Washington Times, July 13 1994.
- “Mugging Johns in Aurora”, Denver Post, July 22 1994.
- “New Attack on Old Profession: Is Aurora on Right Track in Using Newspaper Ads to Push Prostitution Out?”, Rocky Mountain News, August 14 1994.
- “14 Could Face Their Faces in Prostitution ‘Ads’”, Rocky Mountain News, September 13 1994.
- “Challenge Blocks Anti-Prostitution Ads; Aurora Has Enough in Fines to Publish Pictures of Suspected ‘Johns’, But Must Await Court Ruling”, Rocky Mountain News, December 13 1994.
- “Judge Delays Aurora’s Ad Featuring Six Men Accused of Soliciting Sex”, Rocky Mountain News, May 11 1995.
- “Court Rejects ‘John’ Appeal; Man Loses Bid to Keep Photo Out of Hooker-Solicitation Ad”, Denver Post, May 12 1995.
- “Ducking Publicity’s Glare: The Issue – Arrested Man Tries to Stop Publication of His Photo”, Rocky Mountain News, May 12 1995.
- “Aurora’s Prostitute Woes Over? John-Photo Gamble May Be Paying Off”, Denver Post, July 2 1995.
- “Aurora’s Prostitution Policy Makes Customers Cautious”, Rocky Mountain News, November 4 1996.
- “Aurora Seeks ‘Johns’ Notice; Minority Media Asked to Air Info on Prostitution Stings”, Denver Post, April 11 1997.
- “Bid to Change Aurora’s John Photo Policy Dropped”, Denver Post, August 12 1998.
- “Caught with Their Pants Down”, Wired, November 1 2004.
Cameras:
- “Filming the Hard, Colfax: Fighting Crime with Cameras”, Aurora Sentinel, May 24 2012.
- https://www.sentinelcolorado.com/news/aurora-code-officers-body-camera-catches-calling-prostitute/ (2017)
- https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/27/aurora-prostitute-solicitation-body-camera/ (2017)
Community Service:
- https://gazette.com/crime/former-colorado-officer-on-probation-for-prostitution-calls (2017)
- https://www.denverpost.com/2017/03/27/aurora-prostitute-solicitation-body-camera/ (2017)
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “Aurora Spa Accused of Prostitution, Pimping”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, July 11 2007.
- “Men Accused of Prostituting 15-Year-Old Online”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, September 25 2008.
- “Police: Suspected Pimp Arrested in Child Prostitution Sting”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, July 1 2009.
- “Former Teen Prostitute Learned Tough Lessons on the Street”, Rocky Mountain News, February 23 2009.
- “Motel 6 Manager Arrested in Child Prostitution Sting”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, September 15 2009.
- “Police: Missing Teen Seen with Man Involved in Prostitution”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, August 18 2011.
- “Police: Teen Who Faked Abduction Found”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, August 22 2011.
- “DNA Links Prolific Serial Killer to 1981 Murder of Girl, 17, in Aurora”, Denver Post, September 21 2013.
- “Aurora Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison in Teen Prostitution Case”, Denver Post, September 24 2014.
- “Child Trafficking Suspects Accused of Using Death Threats, Violence to Force Girls into Prostitution,” ABC/KMGH-TV 7, February 4 2015.
- “Aurora Man Gets 32 Years to Life for Sexual Assault of Two Teenagers,” Denver Post, June 26 2015.
- “Officials Say Sex Trafficking Cases with Male Victims Highlight Issue,” Denver Post, October 5 2015.
- “Aurora Man Accused of Sex-Trafficking Boys Due in Court,” Denver Post, January 5 2016.
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- History of Colfax Avenue, Phil Goldstein, ColfaxAvenue.com.
- “Portland Gives Aurora Crime-Control Tips; Leaders Visit Oregon City to Find Ways to Deal with East Colfax Vice”, Rocky Mountain News, March 23 1993.
- “Johns Off (Tow) Hook– For Now”, Denver Post, June 29 1993.
- “Aurora to Ask Cities to Join in Anti-Prostitution Effort”, Denver Post, February 7 1997.
- “Plan Aims for ‘No Prostitution Zone’; Effort Targets East Colfax”, Denver Post, October 9 2002.
- “Prostitutes Using Cyberspace to Connect, Police Say”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, January 12 2005.
- “Present for the Future: Overcoming a Life on the Streets”, Aurora Sentinel, December 6 2012.
Documented Violence against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Groves Told Him of Killing, Witness Says”, Denver Post, May 5 1990.
- “Man Killed in Prostitution Sting; Aurora Officer Shoots Suspect at Colfax Motel”, Denver Post, December 4 2003.
- “Man Held in Aurora Woman’s Slaying; Stabbed Body Was Discovered in July alongside Highway in Elbert County”, Denver Post, December 14 2003.
- “Man Killed by Police during Prostitution Sting; Police Release Details in Fatal Shooting”, ABC/KMGH-TV 7, March 25 2005.
- “Serial Killers Worked Denver Streets from ’75 to ’95, Police Say”, Denver Post, September 2 2012.
- “DNA Links Prolific Serial Killer to 1981 Murder of Girl, 17, in Aurora”, Denver Post, September 21 2013.
State | Colorado |
Type | County |
Population | 643052 |
Location |
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