Sexually explicit ads prevalent on Web sites such as
Craigslist.org
Gilroy – Users of the Web site craigslist.org can get just about anything at the click of a button: a roommate, a job, a bike – or even a prostitute.
Hundreds of postings advertise erotic services all over the Bay Area, including Morgan Hill and Gilroy. And while many may be legitimate and legal services, others will cost you more than the price of a cheap motel room. Prostitution has reached the cyber realm and local police are taking notice.
Detectives regularly patrol the Web site and similar sites for explicit ads. Often individuals offering “sensual sessions” or outcall “appointments” will require a “donation” or separate payment of the motel suite.
“I would suspect that they’re getting savvy about the wording in the ads they’re placing,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal.
Gilroy police arrested a woman for prostitution during a sting after she posted her ad on a Web site about 18 months ago.
“It was blatantly obvious that she was a prostitute posting,” Svardal said.
Bay Area police have arrested several individuals in connection with online soliciting on craigslist, including a San Francisco woman who was pimping out a 14-year-old runaway last year.
Unfortunately, when the ads leave the reader guessing, the line blurs on when police can act.
“Generally, a sex act is considered lewd,” Svardal said.
One person offering services to lonely housewives in Morgan Hill offers “sensual services as well as fetish and fantasy fulfillment,” for a donation, yet later writes that the services do not relate to engaging in any lewd act.
Calls to the poster to determine what constitutes fantasy fulfillment were returned within three hours of the original call.
“I do pretty much everything,” he said, after inquiring whether the call was from a law enforcement agent or any way connected to law enforcement.
The man said he was from San Jose and would travel to Gilroy to perform oral sex, however, he requested a photograph be e-mailed to his anonymous craigslist e-mail first.
Another male poster claiming to be from Morgan Hill writes, “You can see what heaven feels like for a donation of $100 … Donations going to a good cause (me). I am a student, not a pro.”
“Amber” posts she will visit Gilroy men for “Nude sensual massage with (explosive) results,” from $80 for 30 minutes to $875 for an all-night stay. An anonymous Craigslist e-mail address is the only way to contact the self-proclaimed “sex kitten.”
However, police aren’t buying the innocent massage.
“If you are reading this and you are reading between the lines … What do you think? They’re after what?” Svardal asked. “Explosive pleasure? Last time I checked, massages weren’t ‘explosive.'”
But posts aren’t limited to those offering services.
Several South County posts included lonely John’s searching for a morning quickie before work in Morgan Hill and a 57-year-old Gilroy man searching for “a lady $$ for an hour.”
Whether it’s a little role play domination, leg worshipping or something more risque one seeks – it’s offered under the Web site’s erotic services section and with sometimes explicit photographs. The only thing blocking a minor from viewing the scantily clad and sometimes naked individuals is a disclaimer saying the user must be 18 to enter the site.
Craigslist does post a terms of use policy stating that the Web site does not control the content of the posts. Under the section labeled contact, users must agree not to post unlawful or pornographic material.
Police urge parents to monitor their children’s Internet activities and leave computers in open rooms in the house.
“The parents need to pay attention,” Svardal said. “Because if the kids are surfing the Web, it’s out there.”
While prostitution has another method of reaching out to potential clients, it also becomes easier for police to track their activities, Svardal explained.
Most of the prostitution that exists in Gilroy is still done the old-fashioned way, through solicitations in bars – not across the Internet, he said.
Craigslist includes a tip for users saying that anonymous sex with multiple partners increases one’s risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and offers a link to a medical chat site.
Gilroy police urge individuals to call the department if they find a posting for prostitution on Craigslist or similar sites.
“We don’t want that kind of stuff here,” Svardal said.
Contact Gilroy Police at 846-0350.
