By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A deputy chief of police from Georgia ended up in a Florida jail after he was accused of agreeing to pay a prostitute $120 per half hour for her services, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
But the “high class prostitute” was actually an undercover detective, officials say.
Jason DiPrima of Kingston, Georgia, was arrested at 11 p.m. Sept. 1 and charged with soliciting a prostitute, a misdemeanor, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
DiPrima, 49, is “deputy chief of police administration for Cartersville Police Department” and “was in Orlando for the American Polygraph Association Seminar/Workshop,” the sheriff’s office said. Cartersville is about 45 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.
“On August 31, 2022, DiPrima responded to an online escort advertisement and began a conversation with an undercover detective by asking ‘Are you available tonight’ and ‘I’d like to come see you. What is your rate?’” the sheriff’s office reported.
“During the online communication, DiPrima agreed to engage in sexual activities with the undercover detective, but then told the detective ‘I got spooked,’ and asked to see her the next night.”
DiPrima contacted the undercover detective again the next day and agreed to a meeting, officials said.
“He initially agreed to pay the undercover detective $120 for a half hour of ‘full service’ sex. When he arrived at the undisclosed location, he confirmed the arrangement by giving the undercover detective $180 and a multi-pack of White Claw Hard Seltzer,” the sheriff’s office said.
DiPrima was arrested, taken to Polk County Jail and released after he paid a $500 bond, officials said.
The Cartersville Police Department released a statement Sept. 2, noting DiPrima was “placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.”
At a news conference, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd noted DiPrima had been with Cartersville police almost 30 years and was considered a “well respected police officer in town.”
DiPrima had arrived at the rendezvous carrying two Bud Lights and driving an unmarked government vehicle attached to Cartersville’s DEA Task Force, Judd said.
“So ostensibly, this guy has come to have sex with a prostitute while driving the Cartersville Police Department undercover vehicle and he was in possession of alcohol,” Judd said.
The arrest came during a “week-long human trafficking undercover enforcement operation conducted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.”
“The purpose of the operation was to identify those involved in human trafficking and arrest those who procure and engage in prostitution,” the sheriff’s office said.
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