WILLIAM MURPHY
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
Undercover police officers have arrested 20 people in the past three months as part of a crackdown on an Internet-based prostitution ring that operated in Islip, Suffolk County police said yesterday.
Patrons would find prostitutes, complete with price ranges for specific services, on a Web site and meet them, often in public places, in Islip, Lt. James Gruenfelder said.
“I don’t want to get graphic, but it would tell you exactly what you would get. It was very specific - any kind of sex, including fetishes,” said Gruenfelder, commanding officer of the Third Precinct Crime Section.
He declined to identify the Web site or the locations for the prostitution because the investigation is continuing. The arrests began Oct. 8 and are being made public now “as part of a public awareness campaign that this is going on,” the lieutenant said.
He said 13 people were charged with prostitution, six with promoting or patronizing a prostitute, and one with unlawful possession of marijuana. He said the most serious charges are misdemeanors that carry 1-year jail terms.
“The investigation revealed that the individuals involved in this type of criminal activity use very little discretion as to where they conduct their activities, as they frequently use public areas for their encounters,” Suffolk police said in a statement.
January 24, 2006