Nine arrested in prostitution sting - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

By Jim Wallace - bio | email

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - You may run to your favorite sandwich shop on you lunch break, but Dougherty County Sheriff's investigators say some people are looking for lunchtime trouble.

They say prostitution during the lunch hour is a big problem in parts of Albany. They arrested nine people in a sting Thursday on West Highland Avenue.

Sheriff Kevin Sproul says they get complaints almost daily. Four suspected prostitutes, including one man dressed as a woman, were arrested.

Later, five men were arrested for trying to pick up undercover women deputies. One of the men, Ricardo Ford, is a registered sex offender. Investigators say another, Billy Dorsey, works at the Marine Base. 

"In the morning and lunch hour, that's a busy time for the prostitutes, in certain areas of the city. Men going and picking them up on their lunch hour," said Dougherty County Sheriff's Captain Craig Dodd. 

"We're going to continue to do this on a periodic basis. We're going to continue to monitor those areas, and find those who are willing to go out and pay money to be with a prostitute," said Dougherty County Sheriff's Lt. Anita Allen. 

Sheriff Sproul said that prostitution, drugs, and gangs are all intertwined in the city's crime problem, and his deputies will continue to try to stop them.

He also cautioned that most of the prostitutes are drug addicts and many have diseases like HIV or hepatitis, and the men who hire them can spread that disease to their wives and families.

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