Read the whole story at The Whidbey News Times…

Craigslist prostitutes arrested in Oak Harbor, Washington
By JESSIE STENSLAND

Five women have been arrested in what detectives are calling the first prostitution stings in Island County history.

To the surprise of investigators, three of the women are Oak Harbor residents and they were allegedly prostituting themselves purely for money in tough economic times. Drugs didn’t appear to be a factor, as it often is in such cases.

The two undercover operations were made possible by Craigslist, an Internet site featuring free classified ads. Men and women in “the oldest profession in the world” use the modern technology to advertise themselves, making prostitution easy and available in nearly all corners of the nation.

It’s a widespread problem that state Attorney General Rob McKenna is trying to crack down on. He recently reached an agreement with Craigslist officials requiring people posting ads for erotic services to provide a phone number and pay a fee.

In Oak Harbor, detectives have only investigated a few scattered prostitution cases over the last three decades or so. But after researching Craigslist, the cops are pretty sure that prostitution has become more prevalent on the island.

“We’ve always heard that it was here, but the computer age really brought it around,” said Lt. Tim Sterkel with the Oak Harbor Police Department. He added that the last time he remembers detectives conducting anything similar to a prostitution sting was a massage-parlor case in the late 1970s.

“I think we’re just scratching the surface now,” he said.

Detective Mike Bailey said he started looking at the Craigslist site based on a tip and discovered a number of women, as well as a man or two, offering sex for a price in the Oak Harbor area. He also found another distressingly seedy activity advertised on the site, but police determined it wasn’t criminal.