Prostitution in College Park moves off streets, into hotels

WASHINGTON – A new kind of prostitution is plaguing College Park, moving off the streets and into hotel rooms.

Police say prostitution is no longer initiated on the street, instead prostitutes are checking into hotels, posting ads online and then getting dozens of phone calls, The Gazette reports.

More than 80 people were arrested in a recent undercover police operation during which law enforcement responded to online ads and met prostitutes at hotels.

Police also posted fake ads online and arrested suspects who came to hotels in response.

The Gazette reports that College Park is known in the East Coast as a prostitution hub because it’s a generally safe community with an abundance of hotels and there is not a lot of police scrutiny.

Authorities are working with hotel managers to combat the problem.

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