Targeting of johns or prostitutes varies among jurisdictions

By: Michael Martz | Richmond Times Dispatch
Published: June 22, 2009

Nationally, more than 59,000 people were arrested for prostitution, solicitation and other forms of commercial vice in 2007, according to the most recent statistics reported by the FBI in its annual Crime in the United States report.

More than two-thirds of those arrested, or more than 40,000, were women. But the main target of vice operations varies widely among jurisdictions in Virginia, according to Atchuthan "Sris" Sriskandarajah, a Northern Virginia attorney who operates law offices in Richmond and other parts of the state. The firm, Sris P.C., has offices in four states and offers defense of people accused of prostitution and solicitation.

In Virginia Beach and Chesterfield County, for example, the focus is usually on the johns who solicit sex rather than the prostitutes who provide, Sriskandarajah said. "They rarely go after the prostitutes."

It's different in Richmond and parts of Northern Virginia, where police more often target the prostitutes, said Sriskandarajah, a former prosecutor in the Prince William County town of Haymarket.

Rarely do police sustain vice operations long enough to make much of a difference, he said. The stings tend to be seasonal and result in relatively light sentences, especially for firstand second-time offenders.

In Chesterfield, for example, the large majority of men charged with misdemeanor solicitation of a prostitute during an undercover sting operation in 2008 received $100 fines and 30-day suspended jail sentences, court records shows.

The operations are expensive and time-consuming for law enforcement. "It's like a drop in the bucket really," Sriskandarajah said. His law firm averages five to 10 cases a month after police launch a series of sting operations.

The operations don't seem to change the psychology of the people who solicit sex and those who provide it. For those who solicit, the motive is a thrill, Sriskandarajah said. For the prostitutes and their handlers, often women, the motive is financial, he said. "For the prostitutes, what are the odds of getting caught?"

Without a sustained law-enforcement effort, that won't change, he said. "There's a reason why it's called the oldest profession in the world. I don't see this ever ending."

Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or mmartz@timesdispatch.com.