Courtesy of the Drudge Report (yes, we made national news), from NBC 12, Spotsylvania’s deputies make the news:
The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office is under fire this morning for the way they investigate certain prostitution cases. Undercover detectives have reportedly been having sex when they bust massage parlors for prostitution. Sheriff Howard Smith says the detectives are just doing what needs to be done in order to build a case and get a conviction. He says they are not doing anything illegal or new. But County Supervisor Henry Connors Jr. says he wants the practice to stop.
“The bottom line is, while we want to shut down places of ill repute, I don’t think we want to promote ill moral behavior among our law enforcement officials,” Connors said.
NBC12 legal analyst Steven Benjamin says: “I can’t believe the Sheriff is still defending this policy, I promise you, he won’t be defending it much longer.”
Disgusting. Resignations should be in order, starting immediately.
The Free Lance-Star has the following:
Three women are charged with residing in a bawdy place. One of those women, 51-year-old Kwi Ok Aguirre, is also charged with sodomy and prostitution in connection to the alleged sexual activity with police, Smith said.
Smith said the decision was made to allow the detective, who is single and who volunteered, to go through with the act so they could file the felony sodomy charge instead of just a misdemeanor prostitution offense.
And from the Richmond-Times Dispatch:
Neely said yesterday that detectives can engage in sexual activity on the job “within reason.” Charles J. Key Sr., a retired Baltimore police lieutenant who trains police officers and federal agents across the country, told the Post that Spotsylvania’s practice was “insane.” He and others said undercover officers need only obtain an offer of sex-for-money to make a case.
Within reason, Mr. Neely?
If this were a drug bust, and the deputies invovled “volunteered” to take drugs in order to get convictions, they’d go to jail. And so would a whole string of people involved.
Not only do I forsee investigations, resignations should be on the order for every single person involved in this case, starting with Neely for approving it, Smith for following through, and the handful of deputies dishonoring their badge.
What a disgrace.