Portland, ME
Categories:
Tactics Used |
|
---|---|
Reverse stings | ✓ |
Shaming | ✓ |
Auto seizure | ✓ |
Community service | ✓ |
Public education | ✓ |
Neighborhood action | ✓ |
SOAP orders | ✓ |
John school | ✓ |
Letters | ✓ |
Cameras | ✓ |
Web stings | ✓ |
License suspension | ✓ |
Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of about 65,000, and is located on the southeast coast. For decades, police have been aware of prostitution occurring in the city and residents have complained to police about it. More recently, instances of sex trafficking of adults and children have been uncovered by investigators. Police responses to our National Assessment survey in 2009 said that they average about three street-level and three web-based reverse stings per year. They also noted that most prostitution in the city has migrated online, and involves prostitution of women and girls from all over New England. One of the women found murdered on Long Island by an apparent serial killer was from Portland, and would travel between Portland and the New York City area to sell sex.
State legislation to address customers of prostituted persons passed in the late 1970s, to solve the double standard of selling sex being illegal while buyers were not subject to any penalties. The first reverse sting known to have occurred in the city was conducted in 1982, and similar operations have been conducted periodically since then. For example, in 1999 a female police decoy was deployed in Portland’s Parkside neighborhood and made four arrests in a few hours. At around the same time, the Portland Police Department experimented with sending warning letters to the homes of owners of vehicles that were spotted idling in areas known for prostitution.
In 2007, a similar 5.5 hour street-level operation resulted in the arrest of 11 johns ranging in age from 18 to 60. In June 2013, two men were arrested in a reversal, and their photos and identifiers were released to news outlets. Investigators say the two men approached an undercover officer at the corner of Congress and Weymouth Streets, and that the operation was in response to complaints from the Parkside Neighborhood Association of female residents solicited in the street and “being followed by men in cars.”
In July 2013, another reverse sting was conducted in the Parkside area. The 1.5 hour operation resulted in four arrests, and the photos and identifiers of the arrestees were offered to the media. City spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said the police crackdown was a direct response to the PNA’s request for “stepped-up enforcement due to the negative impact of prostitution on their community.” Clegg again stated that women who live in the neighborhood complained that they were followed and propositioned by men seeking sex.
In mid-2012, the Portland Press Herald requested the names of all johns arrested in the city between 2008 and 2012, but the Portland Police Department declined to provide the information on the grounds that it did not know the outcomes of individual cases (i.e., whether or not they resulted in a conviction). When asked for comment about police’s hesitance to share this information, Parkside Neighborhood Association members were “both puzzled and frustrated,” and noted that they would like law enforcement to issue news releases whenever a sex buyer is arrested.
In February 2015, Portland police released the names and arrest photos of four johns arrested during a web-based reverse sting in the city. When asked for comment about the investigation, the PPD Police Chief reported:
“Be very careful when you’re coming into this community or anywhere in Maine, cause there’s a lot of folks working hard on this and you may find yourself behind bars having to explain to your family how you put yourself in that situation.”
Key Partners
- Portland Police Department
- Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office
- Parkside Neighborhood Association
- Portland Press Herald
Key Sources
- National Assessment Survey
- Street-Level Reverse Stings with Shaming:
- “Bill to Fine Patrons of Prostitutes Loses; Maine Senate Told Action Would Hurt Conventions”, Toledo Blade, May 3 1977.
- “House Passes Bill to Fine Prostitutes’ Patrons”, Bangor Daily News, May 3 1977.
- “30 Are Caught in John’s Law in Portland”, Bangor Daily News, August 30 1982.
- “Four Arrested for Soliciting ‘Prostitute'”, Portland Press Herald, August 20 1999.
- “Portland Police Round Up Bogus Brothel Customers; The Elaborate Seven-Day Videotaped Sting Operation Cites 26 Men for Engaging a Prostitute”, Portland Press Herald, July 2 2001.
- “And Another Thing…”, Bangor Daily News, July 13 2001.
- “Portland Police Arrest 11 in Prostitution Sting”, Seacoast Online, September 1 2007.
- “Police Won’t Release Names of Portland ‘Johns’; Portland Police Deny a Request by the Press Herald Seeking Names of Men Charged”, Portland Press Herald, October 26 2012.
- “Prostitution Sting Nets Two Arrests in Portland”, NBC/WCSH-TV 6, June 24 2013.
- “Portland Police Arrest 4 More in Prostitution Sting”, Falmouth Forecaster, July 8 2013.
- “Portland Police Charge Four with Engaging a Prostitute”, Portland Press Herald, July 8 2013.
- “Four Men Arrested as Portland Cracks Down on Prostitution”, Portsmouth Herald, July 9 2013.
- Neighborhood Action:
- Web-Based Reverse Stings with Shaming:
- Shaming:
- “Police Won’t Release Names of Portland ‘Johns’; Portland Police Deny a Request by the Press Herald Seeking Names of Men Charged”, Portland Press Herald, October 26 2012.
- “Portland Police Refuse to Name List of Johns”, Waterville Morning Sentinel, October 26 2012.
- Letters:
- “A Moral Crusade; Despite Mixed Results, Chief Michael Chitwood Says Police Efforts to Clean up Portland Are Working. He Shows Every Sign of Continuing…”, Maine Sunday Telegram, March 16 1997.
- Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- “More Girls from Maine and Portland Being Forced into $32 Billion Sex Trade”, Bangor Daily News, October 5 2012.
- “One Woman’s Story in Sex Slavery”, Bangor Daily News, October 5 2012.
- “Portland Man Charged with Transporting Three for Prostitution; Samuel Gravely Faces a Federal Charge of Taking a Minor and Two Adults from Portland to Boston”, Portland Press Herald, October 22 2013.
- “Man Accused of Trying to Force Portland Woman into Prostitution Tells Judge He Doesn’t Understand Change-of-Plea Hearing”, Bangor Daily News, May 5 2014.
- “Mass. Man Found Guilty of Bringing Women from Maine to Boston for Prostitution”, Bangor Daily News, August 29 2014.
- “Portland Man who Brought Maine Woman to Boston for Prostitution Sentenced to Four Years in Prison”, Bangor Daily News, September 24 2014.
- “Boston Man Gets Prison for Transporting 3 Women from Maine for Prostitution,” Greenfield Daily Reporter, May 22 2015.
- Documented Violence against Individuals Engaged in Prostitution in the Area:
- “Scarborough Firefighter Faces New Charge in Brutal Assault”, Portland Press Herald, September 27 2012.
- “Gwaro Guilty of Elevated Assault, Not of Attempted Murder; The Scarborough Man Faces 30 Years in Prison for Beating a Woman and Leaving Her with Permanent Brain Damage”, Portland Press Herald, July 29 2013.
- “Former Scarborough Firefighter Sentenced to Eight Years in Brutal Attack”, Portland Press Herald, January 9 2014.
- “Detective: Man Used Dead Dad’s Badge to Coerce Prostitute,” Boston Globe, October 6 2015.
State | Maine |
Type | City |
Population | 62825 |
Location |
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