CONCORD, N.C. — Several people face prostitution charges after an undercover sting less than a mile from the popular destination Concord Mills.
Undercover officers with Concord police set up meetings last Thursday with several men at a hotel on Gateway Lane Northwest and arrested them one at a time.
Police said people are now using websites like Craigslist and Backpage.com to prostitute rather than meeting on the street, but it’s not stopping Concord police from cracking down.
They have arrested and prosecutors have charged six people with prostitution charges just in the past couple of weeks.
“It does surprise me a bit,” Richard Tillman, who works in the area, said.
Police told Channel 9 this is the first undercover bust in which they put up an advertisement online to catch people looking to pay money for sex.
The prostitution charges are misdemeanors, so most of the people arrested were not even taken to jail. Still, people living in the area are glad police are being proactive.
“I definitely applaud the police in all their efforts to reduce crime,” Tillman said.
Investigators admit the crime is a challenge to catch.
“The internet is making many things for the police more difficult, not just prostitution,” nearby resident Berkley Moore said. “I feel for them. It’s not out there like it used to be.”
Police said in addition to the legal consequences, they want people to know how big of a risk this behavior is. Investigators said criminals have set up meetings for sex to rob people.
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