Craigslist prostitution sting

Now a section on Craigslist called, "Erotic services," has police taking a second look and some women saying the ads are a front for prostitution.Law enforcement in more than a dozen states, including Colorado, are now using Craigslist to set up prostitution stings. In the past three months alone, dozens of women across the country have been arrested after posting an ad in the "erotic services" portion of the popular site.In Denver, Division Chief Dave Fisher said while his department cannot jeopardize any investigative tools, Craigslist is one many resources they use to monitor prostitution activity. However, proving a case from an ad that promises a massage, yet often delivers something else, is complicated, Fisher said."It is not illegal to provide massages for payment. What is illegal is to provide massages for sexual gratification for payment," he said. "Advertisements themselves are not illegal, and that's why they are so blatant in all of the media," he said.One woman who advertises on Craigslist says although her ad offers massage for $100, her services are typically for prostitution. "I advertise on the erotic section and guys call me on my cell phone," said the woman, who asked not to be named for fear of harassment. "Sometimes we just go out and have a good time, go eat, go drink, sometimes it's sexual … depends. And they pay me."Meeting men off of Craigslist can be dangerous, the woman said, and she has had a couple of close calls. "It's probably not a really good thing to be doing," she said, "but it's what I'm doing right now."That concerns Leanne Downing, the executive director of Street's Hope, a non-profit organization that works to help women leave the sex industry. Some of her clients, Downing said, have had very bad experiences from using Craigslist."Women are telling me that Craigslist is more dangerous than being on the street," she said. "What they say is, ‘No one really knows where you're going, no one knows who you're going to,' and so a lot of things can happen."Downing believes that although Craigslist offers a disclaimer for the erotic services section, they should do more to screen the content of the site. Some of the ads, she noted, contain photos of what appears to be very young girls.Craigslist told 9NEWS that while they do not screen ads, they do rely on readers to alert them to inappropriate material. They also stressed that they cooperate with police investigations.Street's Hope can be reached at 303-433-2712, or toll free at 1-866-433-2712.