On June 15, officers with the Scranton Police Department arrested two people for allegedly running a prostitution scheme, possessing an illegal handgun, and possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Officers began their investigation into prostitution in Scranton by looking into a website used for posting advertisements for sexual services in exchange for money. The investigation led officers to an advertisement allegedly posted by a woman who agreed to meet at a specified location and engage in prostitution. Once at the location, officers arrested the woman who allegedly admitted to being in prostitution and traveling to Scranton, Pennsylvania, from Rochester, New York with her boyfriend.
Officers then searched the pair’s car, finding an unregistered handgun, condoms, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and $2,130 in cash. The investigation also uncovered messages between the two, allegedly showing a conspiracy to engage in a joint prostitution business, discussing pricing, logistics, and customer interactions. Both are awaiting a bail hearing on June 28 and facing charges including criminal conspiracy of engaging in and promoting prostitution and possession of marijuana.
The CSE Institute condemns WBRE/WYOU for publishing the couple’s mugshots and names. This practice perpetuates the notion that persons allegedly engaged in prostitution are criminals rather than exploited members of a vulnerable population. Journalists should take care to use trauma-informed reporting practices to ensure accurate reporting while also being considerate towards vulnerable populations. Although arrest records and mugshots are often part of the public record, publishing these details before conviction undermines the presumption of innocence and often harms people who are innocent until proved guilty in the eyes of the law. As the United States shifts more towards decriminalizing selling sex, it is imperative that people are not stigmatized for something that is no longer a crime. Further, looking at the suspect’s body language can show that they may be experiencing trauma. The intersecting vulnerabilities that lead people to make “choices” to survive are often overlooked when publishing mugshots.
The CSE Institute is also disappointed that Scranton police arrested the woman after what appears to be a brief investigation designed to criminalize persons in prostitution. Although the CSE Institute commends the Scranton Police Department for attempting to reduce commercial sexual exploitation, law enforcement must understand that targeting sex buyers and traffickers, rather than persons in prostitution, is essential to achieving this goal.
The CSE Institute advocates for the Equality Model, a policy that seeks to reduce the demand for commercial sex by criminalizing those who buy sex rather than those who are bought and sold. The Equality Model consists of four elements: (1) decriminalization of the person in prostitution, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and a commitment to treat buying sex as a serious crime, (3) a public education campaign about the inherent harms of prostitution, and (4) robust, funded exit services for people in prostitution. In countries where the Equality Model has been implemented, there has been a decrease in commercial sexual exploitation. This is because the sex trade functions like any other industry, with an increase in demand, comes an increase in supply. With the sex trade, however, increasing supply requires exploiting more people. Criminalizing persons in prostitution does nothing to target sex buyers or traffickers nor does it extinguish the demand for commercial sex.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.