She was arrested on a prostitution charge. Amy L. Davis, 21, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor this month in the only successful prosecution that came out of the sting. Authorities believe the women who advertise on Craigslist may be part of a network.
After Davis was arrested, other women contacted by undercover detectives lost interest as soon as they learned the location of the proposed meeting. Lee Richardson. But authorities said their work will continue. Craigslist is seen by some as a bastion for the sex trade.
The Internet has made it cheaper and easier to advertise, ushering in what some believe is a different demographic of women willing to have sex for money. Street prostitutes are usually plagued by homelessness and drug addiction, authorities say, but Craigslist makes it easier for anyone with an Internet connection to sell sex for quick cash.
The marketing is hardly discreet on Craiglist. Officers investigating a check-fraud case learned the suspect advertised with another woman as prostitutes on Craigslist. He told them he was visiting from Texas. Both women, Randi J. Baudin, who drove them to the motel and waited in the parking lot.
All pleaded guilty to misdemeanor prostitution charges and served a couple of months in jail, according to court records. In Spokane, police efforts to combat prostitution focus on East Sprague Avenue, the stretch where Foreman met the prostitute who turned his knife on him, and where serial killer Robert Yates found many of his victims. Occasional undercover stings nab would-be johns and prostitutes, but Internet sex crimes detectives in Spokane County focus on crimes against children, not prostitution.
