Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
An undercover operation last month that netted three misdemeanor prostitution busts was part of a broader, ongoing investigation that was not specifically targeting sex crimes, according to Shawano County authorities.
Three women, all from outside the county, were arrested in separate incidents after sheriff’s detectives responded to ads the women had placed online, according to criminal complaints.
Texts were exchanged establishing that the women were looking to trade sex for money, according to the complaints, and detectives asked the women whether they would be willing to come to Shawano County.
Rendezvous were then set up at which the women were arrested.
The busts involved three detectives, one of whom went undercover as the would-be customer while the other two staked out the meeting place.
The arrests involved a 21-year-old Green Bay woman in the town of Wescott on Sept. 9, a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman in Wittenberg on Sept. 17, and a 27-year-old Nichols woman in Bonduel on Sept. 29.
The Nichols woman appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of prostitution. She was ordered to pay a fine and court costs totaling $1,083, according to court records.
The Green Bay woman is due in court for her initial appearance Monday.
No charges have yet been filed against the Milwaukee woman, though the Sheriff’s Department said the case has been referred to the district attorney’s office.
The Leader does not publish the names of suspects charged with misdemeanor crimes.
Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Gordon Kowaleski said he was not at liberty to discuss the broader investigation that led to the prostitution charges, other than saying that was not the sole purpose of the effort.
“We address these things as they come up,” he said.
According to the criminal complaint filed against the Nichols woman, detectives asked if she used illegal drugs. They offered to bring marijuana to the rendezvous if she brought either heroin or cocaine, according to the complaint.
The complaint states the woman brought a hard, white substance that appeared to be rock cocaine. However, after her arrest, the woman told authorities she didn’t use drugs and wasn’t certain if it really was cocaine. No drug charges had been filed against her as of Thursday.
Sheriff’s Capt. Tom Tuma said there is a “historical component” of drug activity being associated with prostitution.
“The Sheriff’s Office looks for a correlation with other activities,” Tuma said, adding that prostitution is often used to fund a drug habit.
“We’ll see this problem grow with the addiction problem,” he said.
Tuma said the arrests were not the result of a vice operation seeking out prostitution. However, he said, local authorities are aware of a growing problem of human trafficking.
“It’s very real, and it’s very real in Wisconsin,” he said. “This provided an opportunity to help people who may be victims.”
Kowaleski said there was no way for authorities to know whether the women who placed the ads in the Green Bay escorts section of the web site might have been from Shawano County or were already doing business in Shawano County.
“We don’t know where they’re coming from initially,” he said. “With today’s mobile society, they’re the ones who are traveling.”