25 women accused in sex sting
By Christy Gutowski Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted December 13, 2003
Posing as out-of-town businessmen or just misunderstood husbands looking for sex, police from across DuPage County arrested more than two dozen women during a prostitution sting.

Led by the sheriff's vice unit, officers set up simultaneous stings earlier this week at a half dozen hotels with the goal of shutting down the local sex trade - albeit for only a day.

Police arrested 25 women on prostitution charges Wednesday in hotels in Addison, Lisle, Naperville, Westmont and Willowbrook. The women are accused of offering to perform a sex act for money.

Sheriff's Detective Lt. Mark Edwalds said undercover officers made appointments with escorts from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The rendezvous were set up at staggered times. Most of the women live in Chicago, but a few listed suburban addresses.

It's more difficult for police to identify the women's employers since the escort services market their wares using only telephone numbers on Internet sites or in newspaper and magazine ads.

"They can be run out of a person's basement or literally out of a car," Edwalds said. "It's very difficult to track them much further because the girls aren't going to talk."

The escorts have grown wise to such undercover clampdowns and often require a name, address and phone number to verify a potential customer is who he claims. They also may demand a driver's license or credit card as proof when they arrive for the date.

At some point in the sting, police always expect word to get out among the escort groups about the arrests. The escorts use the Internet and wireless communications to notify each other. This investigation wasn't too hampered, Edwalds said, because their cover wasn't blown until late in the day.

Five local police departments joined sheriff's officials in the sting, including officers in Addison, Lisle, Naperville, Westmont and Willowbrook. About 30 officers took part in the crackdown.

The sting was set up by Sheriff John Zaruba's intelligence, vice and organized crime unit. The unit typically organizes similar stings each year. Authorities also regularly police exotic massage parlors that advertise "adult services." Police said their goal is to send a message that escorts and other sex trades aren't welcome in DuPage County.

"We want them to know what they're doing is illegal," Edwalds said, "and that we're out there looking for them."

Names of only 16 of the 25 women were available Friday. Charged with prostitution are (NAMES DELETED)