KISSIMMEE, Fla. – More than six dozen people were arrested last week in Kissimmee in an undercover sting operation involving prostitution ads on websites.
Kissimmee police said 76 people were arrested on charges of assignation to commit prostitution and enter a dwelling to commit prostitution. Some faced additional charges, including a Kissimmee man also arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon by a felon/sexual predator.
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Authorities said Kissmmee and St Cloud police detectives spent last week in a decoy house targeting individuals who use the Internet for criminal activity.
The detectives spent part of the week aimed at prostitution advertisements from websites such as backpage.com and craigslist.com. During the course of the week, detectives replied to ads and also posted a decoy ad on the websites.
"Prostitution can bring with it drug-related crimes, robbery and burglary. By conducting operations like this one, we are taking steps on curtailing these types of crimes within the city of Kissimmee," Kissimmee Police Chief Fran Iwanski said.
The investigation also targeted other criminal activity, such as unlicensed contractors that use Internet-based advertisements to defraud and those dealing in stolen property. No arrests were made on those charges, police said.