Posted on Sat, Jul. 31, 2004

Hotel escorts nabbed

City's hospitality trade draws illicit sex

BY LAURA YUEN

Pioneer Press

The female escorts arrived at the Eagan Extended Stay America, each knocking on a different door. Men inside the rooms had called for some company, and the women had come to work.

But by the end of the night, four escorts — including one 16-year-old — and at least one male accomplice were booked on prostitution-related charges. It turned out their johns were Eagan cops.

The July 23 arrests were part of a periodic effort by Eagan police to target illicit sex in the suburbs by setting up sting operations in any of the city's 15 hotels. Though often considered an urban problem, prostitutes also take their business to outlying areas, especially those with a viable hospitality industry.

"There always seems to be a way for suppliers and customers to get together," said Police Chief Kent Therkelsen. "Some people have called this close to pure capitalism, but I wouldn't use those words. I think it's a crime."

He notes that prostitution is anything but victimless. In addition to exploiting women and girls, it often is tied to other crimes, such as assaults, illegal drugs and robberies.

To some, such proactive law-enforcement methods could seem like entrapment. Are police justified in calling up escorts from out of town, luring them into Eagan and busting them when they cross the line?

Law enforcement officials think so.

"If you work them, you'll get a reputation where they will not come here," said Detective Dave Sebesta of Bloomington police's special investigations unit.

Sebesta said that years ago, his department put the full-court press on hotel prostitution. "It got to the point where they'd ask, 'Where are you at?' And when we told them, they said, 'We don't go there.' "

Eagan police stress that the problem is not overrunning the south suburb. Since 1999, the city has yielded 31 prostitution-related arrests. Officers stage the undercover operations only as needed, often responding to complaints from hotel employees or guests.

But Therkelsen contends the number of arrests probably represent just a small portion of the activity. "It's hard to count what you really can't prove," he said.

Several Eagan hotel managers, including those at Extended Stay America, could not be reached for comment or did not return phone calls for this story. But police and tourism officials said many of them work with law enforcement to keep their businesses clean.

Eagan's proximity to the Twin Cities airport, Mall of America and corporate headquarters make it a prime spot for hotels — and for vice that sets up shop there.

"It's a problem everywhere in the hospitality industry," said Sue Hegarty, public relations director for the Eagan Convention and Visitors Bureau. "With Eagan being along a major interstate, we are prone to it. But I think our hoteliers are trained to recognize it when it occurs and put an end to it quickly."

Part of the challenge has been staying ahead of the world's so-called oldest profession. In the late 1970s and early '80s, prostitutes worked the bars, lounges and parking lots of hotels. In the past several years, though, in-person pickups dropped off. Most prostitutes today advertise on the Internet or in alternative weekly newspapers as female escorts — which are legal, as long as they do not trade sex for cash.

When Sebesta speaks of some prostitutes' Web sites, they sound like fan sites for a rock band. "A lot of them have a circuit, where they visit the same towns every month or two," he said. "They'll put it right on their Web site: 'I'll be in Minneapolis, the week of …' "

Just as frustrating, most prostitution charges are misdemeanors. The suspects pay their fines or post bail and return to work. And many get smarter. "The first-timers are fairly easy to entice. But the longer they're in, the harder it gets," Sebesta said.

In this most recent Eagan sting, officers posing as customers phoned several escort services and reserved a handful of hotel rooms at the Extended Stay, near Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle roads. Cover officers were in the building nearby.

Typically, once a suspect offers a sexual act in exchange for money, the officers can arrest her, Therkelsen said.

On July 23, Eagan police arrested:

• a 16-year-old girl from Brooklyn Park; Amy Marie Hribar, 26, of Eagan; Melissa Ann Valenzuela, 22, of Burnsville; Josefa Alicia Valenzuela, 22, of Burnsville; all charged with soliciting prostitution.

• Jack Shigeo Young, 21, of Minneapolis, charged with procuring a minor for prostitution.

• Antonio Demetric Nunn, 18, of St. Paul, who allegedly drove one of the women to the site, was charged with driving while his license was suspended.