Florence, SC
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 | ✓ |
Florence is a city in South Carolina with a population of about 40,000 residents, located about 70 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach. A wide range of problems associated with the local commercial sex market have been documented in this small city, including sex buyers being robbed while soliciting sex and the local activity of a serial killer that specifically targeted prostituted women. Child neglect is also among the many problems associated with the local prostitution market. For example, in June 2016, a woman police arrested for solicitation of prostitution was also charged with child neglect after she brought an infant to the motel to meet who she thought was a sex buyer. Officers arrested the 20-year-old woman after an undercover officer responded to her online ad soliciting sexual services. Officers met her at a Florence motel and subsequently arrested her on the solicitation charge. During her arrest, she mentioned a baby who was still in the room. When officers returned to the motel room, they found the infant on the bed. The woman was charged with solicitation of prostitution and unlawful neglect of a child. She was booked into the Florence County Detention Center and two days later was released on $3,500 bond.
Among the efforts to contain local sex trafficking and prostitution activity have been the use of tactics focusing on combatting demand. Reverse stings have been used to arrest sex buyers in the city since at least 2010, possibly earlier. In one operation in 2010, 11 men were arrested for solicitation and their names, ages, and addresses were published in local media.
The Florence Police Department has also routinely conducted web-based reverse stings using decoy ads on websites known for prostitution. One such operation was conducted in October 2013 at an area hotel located on US 52 near I-95. The operation was initiated in response to complaints from area motel managers of an increase in prostitution activity in the area. An undercover female sheriff’s deputy posed as a prostituted woman advertising online. Numerous individuals responded to the ad and five suspects arranged for a meeting with the undercover deputy. The five suspects were arrested when they verbally agreed to exchange money for sex. The Florence County Sheriff’s Office PACE team and Florence Police Department narcotics investigators also assisted in the operation. Other web-based reversals include a sting in August 2013 that led to 10 arrests, another in December 2013 that resulted in the arrest of seven sex buyers, one in January 2014 resulting in three arrested sex buyers, and a fourth operation conducted in December 2014 that intercepted nine men attempting to purchase sex. Arrested sex buyers can face a maximum penalty of a $500 fine or 30 days in jail.
Key Sources
Reverse Stings:
- “Florence Police Arrest 16 People in Prostitution Sting”, CBS/WBTW-TV 13, August 23 2010.
- “Florence Police Arrest 16 People in Prostitution Sting”, Florence Morning News, August 23 2010.
Web-Based Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “Florence Police Target Internet-Based Prostitution”, Florence Morning News, July 31 2011.
- “Florence Police Crack Down on Prostitution”, Florence Morning News, August 10 2013.
- “5 Charged in Florence County Prostitution Sting”, CBS/WBTW-TV 13, October 16 2013.
- “Five Men Arrested After Reverse Prostitution Sting”, NBC/WMBF-TV 10, October 16 2013.
- “Investigators Target ‘Johns’ in Prostitution Sting”, Florence Morning News, October 16 2013.
- “Undercover Deputy Poses as Prostitute During Sting That Lands Five Men in Jail”, ABC/WPDE-TV 15, October 16 2013.
- “Florence Police Department Prostitution Sting Nets 11 Arrests”, Florence Morning News, December 19 2013.
- “Several Nabbed in Florence Prostitution Bust Involving Website Ads”, CBS/WNCT-TV 9, December 19 2013.
- “11 Arrested in Florence Police Dept. Online Prostitution Sting”, NBC/WMBF-TV 10, December 20 2013.
- “Florence Deputies Arrest 3 in Prostitution Sting Involving Website”, CBS/WBTW-TV 13, January 17 2014.
- “Three Men Arrested in Florence Prostitution Sting”, Florence Morning News, January 19 2014.
- “Three Men Charged in Florence Prostitution Sting”, NBC/WMBF-TV 10, January 19 2014.
- “Florence Police Arrest Nine Suspects in Prostitution Sting,” Florence Morning News, December 19 2014.
Documented Violence Against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “A Body Found 11 Years Ago at a Lamar, SC, Rest Area Is Identified”, CBS/WFMY-TV 2, September 13 2011.
- “Admitted Murderer Linked to 11 Year Old Remains”, NBC/WMBF-TV 10, September 13 2011.
- “Long-Haul Trucker Who Lived with His Mother Is a ‘Serial Killer Who Has Murdered Prostitutes Across U.S.”, Daily Mail (U.K.), September 19 2011.
- “Memorial Held for Woman Found Slain in Darlington County”, Florence Morning News, November 2 2011.
- “John Boyer, Trucker, Killed 3 Prostitutes Across South: Police”, Huffington Post, November 19 2011.
- “11 Arrested in Florence Police Dept. Online Prostitution Sting”, NBC/WMBF-TV 10, December 20 2013.
Prostitution Related Child Neglect:
State | South Carolina |
Type | City |
Population | 39958 |
Location |
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