Battle Creek prostitution sting targets customers

Four men looking for prostitutes were arrested in a Battle Creek police sting Wednesday.

Sgt. Jeff Case said police placed an online posting on a site called Backpage offering one or two or three women to "entertain U and satisfy your needs."

Case said more than a dozen men called the number included in the posting and four came to a hotel on Beckley Road.

Three undercover female officers were in a room and Case said when the men offered money for sex, police arrested them.

"There was some conversation before the legal requirements were met and we made an arrest," Case said. He said officers also seized the mens' vehicles and will begin forfeiture proceedings.

Case said not all the callers were from Battle Creek.

Wednesday's sting comes as a group continues work on prostitution in the city.

The Prostitution Abatement group has been meeting for several months to determine the size and type of issue in Battle Creek.

Representatives from Sexual Assault Services, Summit Pointe, Woman's Co-Op, SAFE Place, the Battle Creek Community Foundation, 211, BC Pulse and others along with Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker and Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert first met in August.

The group has spent some time trying to determine the number of prostituted women working the streets and also studying other programs to help prostitutes.

Blocker estimated 10 to 20 sex workers regularly work as streetwalkers.

He said the sting Wednesday was also an attempt to determine the extent of the demand by men.

"We are doing an operation and that is my way of taking a test," Blocker said. "Is the market there and is there interest and if there is a lot of interest it tells me it is going on in our town. (Wednesday) was mostly quantitative. Do we have an issue and to what extent?"

The use of the internet to find sex workers is one form of prostitution, police said, but officers will be working with other community organizations to provide opportunities for sex workers to leave prostitution.

He said another operation later in the year is designed to provide women apprehended with a chance to meet with organizations that offer help.

"We want to provide a diversion so instead of charging these women with solicitation we bring them into a church and let them look at options," Blocker said. "It is about an exit strategy."

Blocker said organizations are preparing to meet with the women and offer them services when the sting is organized.

The Prostitution Abatement group has learned that the women are both victims and suspects.

"Some of the of these women are coerced into this work environment just to survive. The dilemma is when are they suspects and when are the victims and in some cases we have to say yes to both," Blocker said.

One goal of the group is to send customers to education programs as part of criminal proceedings.

"They need to be exposed so they realize that the women are being objectified, that they are someone's daughter and that they are sometimes human trafficked and it is not something they want to do and in many cases they are victims," he said. "They need to see a thousand faces and the empty, thousand-yard stare of the young ladies who are victims of these crimes."

Blocker said the group is realistic about the chances for success with the program.

"We are trying to cut down the recidivism rate. If we can save one out of four young ladies from this, that is successful. Two out of four is fantastic."

Call Trace Christenson at 966-0685. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson