Whatcom County, 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 | ✓ |
Whatcom County is a county of approximately 230,000 residents in Northern Washington state. It is situated directly north of Seattle, and the county’s northern border is the US border with the Canadian province of British Columbia. The county seat and largest city is Bellingham, WA. Research on the history of Whatcom County found that prostitution was legal in Bellingham for a 90-year period, in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early 1900s, international sex trafficking rings smuggled women from Asia to the United States (into Washington and Oregon), and historical records show that women who refused or initially resisted engaging in prostitution were beaten until they complied. Since the 1980s, the county has several areas with some level of street-level prostitution, and indoor prostitution is known to occur in hotels and storefront brothels (such as nail salons). Complaints from the community play a large role in police conducting anti-prostitution operations. The rise of internet advertising has encouraged the spread of prostitution outside of “stroll” or brothels, to virtually anywhere in the county.
Some of the prostitution-related effort of county and city law enforcement is directed toward attempting to deter consumer-level demand. Both street-level and web-based reverse stings have been conducted, and the identities of arrested sex buyers released to local media outlets. For example, in June of 2015, a two-day, web-based reverse sting operation focused on individuals seeking to solicit sex from prostituted persons online. Officers posted decoy ads on websites known for prostitution and sex trafficking, and arranged to meet with potential sex buyers who had responded to the ads. As a result of the investigation, six male sex buyers responded to the ads and were arrested upon their arrival to the predetermined location. The identities and ages of arrested sex buyers were released to news outlets.
In December 2017, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office participated in a web-based reverse sting investigation, Operation “Net Nanny,” led by the Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force, focusing on apprehending individuals seeking to sexually exploit minors in exchange for money online and identify victims of child sex trafficking and exploitation. During the operation, undercover officers communicated through various websites known for prostitution and sex trafficking, with individuals interested in sexually exploit minors in exchange for money. According to reports, the operation generated hundreds of responses. As a result of the investigation, 20 male sex buyers were arrested. All arrested offenders had traveled to meet with undercover detectives posing as young girls and boys, with the intent to engage in sexual activity with them. Most of the men were arrested on suspicion of attempted child rape and attempted communication with a minor for immoral purposes. During the operation, undercover agents posted Craigslist ads online advertising for meet ups of a sexual nature, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records. Charges included second-degree child rape, communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, and prostituting/patronizing a minor.
In February 2018, Bellingham Police arrested at eight people on prostitution-related charges. Police Lt. Danette Beckley said the arrests were made as part of joint operation among officers from the Bellingham Police Department, the North-Central Sound Child Exploitation Task Force, including agents and detectives from the FBI and the Seattle Police Department. Lt. Beckley said in a statement, “Friday’s arrests are the latest effort as law enforcement continues to work at reducing the demand for prostitutes and ending human trafficking.” Police Department online daily activity reports and booking records at the Whatcom County Jail showed one King County man booked on a felony charge of promoting prostitution and seven men charged with misdemeanor counts of patronizing a prostitute.
Key Partners
- Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office
- Bellingham Police Department
- North-Central Sound Child Exploitation Task Force
- FBI
- Seattle Police Department
Key Sources
Street-Level Reverse Stings:
- “Police Button up Downtown Sex Trade; Crime: Citizen Complaints Lead to Crackdown, Citing of Men and Women for Prostitution, Patronizing a Prostitute,” Bellingham Herald, July 18 2003.
Web-Based Reverse Stings, Identity Disclosure:
- “Former NFL Tackle Arrested for Patronizing Prostitution in Bellingham,” Bellingham Herald, August 17 2011.
- Former Lyncs player arrested in Bellingham (2011)
- “Six Men Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” KGMI-AM 790, June 16 2015.
- 6 arrests in Bellingham prostitution sting (2015)
- http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article (2015)
- https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/crime/article (2015)
- https://skagitbreaking.com/20-people-arrested-whatcom-county-net-nanny-operation/ (2017)
- www.columbian.com/at-least-19-men-arrested-in-child-sex-sting-in-whatcom-county/ (2017)
- Operation Cross Country XI (2017)
- https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/crime/article (2018)
Sex Trafficking and Child Sexual Exploitation in the Area:
- Dillingham, W.P. (1910). Importing Women for Immoral Purposes (1907-1910). United States Immigration Commission.
- “Police Say Teen Boys Lured into Porn Ring,” Milwaukee Sentinel, August 27 1983.
- “Call Saves Two from Alleged Forced Prostitution,” Vancouver Columbian, December 19 1997.
- “Pair Held in Prostitution Case Denied Bail,” Eugene Register-Guard, December 20 1997.
- “Teen Girls Jailed as Witnesses in Slave Ring,” Vancouver Columbian, December 22 1997.
- “Court Won’t Release Victims in Forced Prostitution Case; Crime: Two Canadian Teenagers Allegedly Forced into Sex Acts, Are Still Being Held,” Eugene Register-Guard, December 23 1997.
- “In Brief,” Vancouver Columbian, December 25 1997.
- “Teen Girls Return Home for Christmas; Prostitution: The Canadian Ministry of Children and Families Has Custody of the Girls,” Eugene Register-Guard, December 26 1997.
- “5 Years in Child-Prostitution Case,” Seattle Times, October 9 1998.
- “Man Gets Prison for Prostitution,” Eugene Register-Guard, December 18 1998.
- “Suspect Accused of Soliciting in Prostitution Case,” Bellingham Herald, August 30 2007.
- “2 Seattle Men Convicted under New State Juvenile Prostitution Law; Two Seattle Men Accused of Coercing Two 17-Year-Old Bellingham Girls to Work as Prostitutes Were Convicted Wednesday of a New State Law,” Seattle Times, June 5 2008.
- Rapid Assessment on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Washington, Report, Shared Hope International, June 2011.
- “Man Accused of Pimping out 17-Year-Old Girl in Bellingham,” Bellingham Herald, February 8 2012.
- “One Man Arrested for Suspected Juvenile Sex Trafficking in Bellingham,” U.S. Federal News Service, February 8 2012.
- “Man Gets 4 Years for Pimping out Girl, 17, at Bellingham Motel,” Bellingham Herald, May 2 2013.
Background on Prostitution in the Area:
- “Police Raid Parlors,” Spokane Daily Chronicle, February 4 1975.
- Two massage parlors closed (1978)
- “Sting Busts Prostitute-Smuggling Ring,” Vancouver Columbian, December 12 2000.
- Downtown merchants, police try to combat prostitution (2002)
- “Woman Denies Police Charge of Prostitution,” Bellingham Herald, July 19 2003.
- “Effort against Prostitution a Good Start; Community: Police Need to Keep after Those Engaging in Sex Trade and Its Attendant Problems,” Bellingham Herald, July 31 2003.
- “Editorial: City’s New Year Resolution Needs to Be Cleaning up Railroad Avenue– Again,” Bellingham Business Journal, January 1 2005.
- “Craigslist Ads Lead to Arrests for Prostitution,” Bellingham Herald, February 13 2007.
- “Arrest Alleges Prostitution,” Bellingham Herald, November 19 2007.
- “Craigslist Sex Ads Lead to Bellingham Arrests; Police: Any Kind of Payment Makes It Prostitution,” Bellingham Herald, November 27 2007.
- “Paint the Town Red; Bellingham’s Brothels,” Klipsun Magazine, October 2008.
- “Downtown at Night,” Bellingham Business Journal, December 1 2008.
- “Bus Driver Accused of Promoting Prostitution on the Job,” NBC/KING-TV 5, January 19 2011.
- “Downtown History Tour Explores Bellingham’s ‘Sin and Gin’ Past,” Bellingham Herald, July 11 2011.
- “Tacoma, Shoreline, Bellingham Join Fight against Backpage.com,” NBC/KING-TV 5, August 22 2011.
- “Operation Cross Country VIII Recovers Four Juveniles Being Victimized through Prostitution in Washington State,” States News Service, June 23 2014.
| State | Washington |
| Type | County |
| Population | 229247 |
| Location |
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