Missoula Crime Report: Several Arrested in Prostitution Sting
Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - The Missoula County Attorney’s Office filed 21 new felony complaints this week, which is 10 more than last week and higher than the weekly average. According to County Attorney Matt Jennings, nine were considered violent offenses.
“We had one endangerment crime and five property crimes which included three stolen vehicles,” Jennings said. “That does happen quite a bit. Lock your doors. I wasn't always as good about that. In my youth, I used to love growing up in Montana in a safe place and I sometimes used to leave my keys in the ignition but I sure don't do that anymore. We had five drug crimes and one administrative crime.”
On October 22 and 23, the Montana Department of Justice, the Missoula Police Department, and the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office all participated in a joint operation to identify and apprehend purchasers of illegal commercial sex.
“This is known as an undercover ‘John sting’,” Jennings said. “It's designed to curb the demand for prostitution and help in a war against human trafficking. We had four different felony arrests that were made for patronizing prostitution. In some of those, there were illegal narcotics that were seized and there was a firearm that was seized. Some of these folks have been involved in other aspects of the criminal justice system.”
Jennings said they prioritize these cases because along with commercial sex comes a lot of violence, coercion, human trafficking, and drug addiction.
READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports
“In this particular circumstance, while it was a sting operation, we as a society have been trying to cut down on that demand for this commercial sex work knowing the harms that it is causing in our society,” Jennings said. “It does exist. It's real. Women are getting seriously hurt by this and getting stuck in a repeating cycle of violence and coercion in their life. It's just great to see some of these agencies work together to try and target that commercial sex trafficking through operations like this.”
“This behavior is not only illegal but poses many risks to our communities such as Human Trafficking of both adults and children,” stated Missoula County Sheriff, Jeremiah Petersen. “The great work done this week with our law enforcement partners creates safer communities for both children and adults.”
Nine incidents related to Patronizing a Prostitute occurred during the operation with eight adults and one juvenile. Offenders have been arrested, issued warrants, or charged. We will provide more information about this operation when all the individuals are charged.
The Missoula County Attorney’s Office provides a weekly crime report every Friday morning at 9:00 on Talk Back. You can listen to Jennings’s full report below: