By Hailey Heinz
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — At least two Albuquerque police officers working prostitution stings recently received massages from naked women suspected of prostitution - conduct defense lawyers say is outrageous, and APD officials say is standard and acceptable.
In at least one case, the officer stripped down to his underwear before the back rub commenced.
Because it had already been made clear the money that had changed hands was for sex, police and prosecutors acknowledge there was already probable cause for a prostitution arrest before anybody started taking off their clothes.
APD spokesman John Walsh said the massage in that case was necessary for an additional charge of practicing massage without a license. That’s an administrative citation he said could strengthen the investigation and potentially change the sentencing guidelines in the case.
Attorney Mary Han criticized the action.
“This is a misdemeanor, and so a police officer just completely disrobed (to his underwear) in order to charge somebody with ... what?” Han said. “I want to know whether the chief and the mayor really believe that this is a good expenditure of our resources.”
APD policy on such arrests is vague, leaving individual officers to decide how far is too far when playing the part of an undercover “john.”
Naked massage
During an August prostitution bust, an undercover off icer found suspected prostitute Amanda Johnson through an advertisement on Craigslist.
He arranged to meet her at an Albuquerque motel, according to a criminal complaint, and they exchanged $200 as soon as they met.
Johnson, 25, explicitly said the money was in exchange for sexual acts, according to the complaint, and then the officer asked “if we could start with a massage.”
Johnson agreed, and the officer undressed down to his underwear, according to the complaint. Johnson got undressed, sat on the officer’s lower back and began to give him a massage.
That’s when the officer gave the arrest signal. A group of officers entered the room, read Johnson her rights and took her to jail.
The story is similar to an arrest made by reserve officer David Young, which recently came to light amid allegations that Young made unsupervised - and therefore illegal - arrests.
Norma Soto, now 23, was arrested last summer by Young, according to a criminal complaint. In that case, Young found Soto through Craigslist, arranged a meeting at a motel and arrested her after money was exchanged and Soto gave Young a naked massage, according to the complaint.
Han has been appointed by the Public Defender’s Office to represent people, including Soto, arrested or cited by reserve officers.
Judgment call
Defense attorneys say having officers let suspects give them massages is unnecessary and inappropriate.
Bill Tinker, who often defends women charged with prostitution, said the women he represents frequently are taken advantage of because of their lifestyle.
“I’ve represented a lot of girls who have been picked up,” he said. “Mostly I’ve heard it from the girls, that they get taken advantage of by the cops.”
There is no precise Albuquerque police policy regarding physical contact with suspected prostitutes. Speaking about the Young case last month, Deputy Chief Kevin McCabe said undercover officers are not allowed to touch a suspect’s bare breasts to convince the person they are not a police officer.
McCabe said officers can touch the suspect’s clothed breasts in such situations. Beyond those guidelines, the issue is largely a judgment call made by individual officers.
“You want to avoid any outrageous conduct. You have to use good judgment,” McCabe said last month. “Sometimes, we have to make a judgment call; there are no absolutes. In the event a detective does touch an unclothed area, they are supposed to document it.”
Tinker said some things don’t need to be in writing.
“It’s pretty easy to determine that a naked massage should be inappropriate under the SOP,” he said, suggesting it might be considered conduct unbecoming of an officer.
He said Johnson would likely have grounds for a civil lawsuit.
District attorney spokesman Pat Davis said behaviors like the naked massage would not hurt prosecutors’ ability to win a case, as the officer did nothing illegal. He added, though, that a case can be jeopardized if a jury finds the officer’s behavior unacceptable.
“The police can go only so far as the community will accept as appropriate,” he said.
Although a massage is necessary in order to bring the charge of practicing massage without a license, Davis said an exchange of money with a clear intention of providing sexual services is the only proof required to bring prostitution charges.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal