WASHINGTON — Seven men and one teen have been charged with solicitation of prostitution following a sting operation at a Jessup, Maryland, Super 8 motel, Howard County police announced Tuesday.
Police said the men and the teen were arrested after they showed up at the motel and offered an undercover female officer money for sex.
Detectives had placed fake ads on the website Backpage, “which is a site known to detectives to be used for prostitution,” police said.
The men and the teen, a 17-year-old, were also charged with disorderly conduct.
The ages of the men ranged from 24 to 62.
The department said the arrests were carried out “in an effort to deter prostitution and human trafficking in Howard County” and to make the county “an unappealing place for traffickers and johns.”
The police department said it regularly posts ads on Backpage warning would-be johns of the penalties of prostitution. “LOOKING FOR A GIRL? POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU,” the ad reads.
