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Courtesy photo/Polk County jail mug. Mia Morrison, 29, of Ormond Beach, was among 28 people Tuesday in a Polk County prostitution sting.
BARTOW -- A 29-year-old Ormond Beach woman was among 28 people arrested Tuesday in a Polk County prostitution sting targeting women advertising themselves on craigslist, the trendy classified advertising Web site.
Mia Morrison was charged with prostitution after meeting an undercover investigator posing as a customer answering her ad, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said, adding she took a shower and "never put her clothes back on."
Morrison had agreed to accept $350 in exchange for sex in a trst in Polk County, the Sheriff's Office there said.
The sting, dubbed "Operation Hot Date," had investigators reachibng out to the women in their ads with negotiated prices between $125 and $800 for various sex acts through the craigslist ads and then arranged dates with them between Thursday and Saturday in Polk County. Five men who were "pimps" of the women were among the 28 charged with prostitution-related offenses.
Polk County Sheriff's officials said the Internet sex rendevous had increased in recent months, necessitating the sting, echoing complaints by law enforcement across the country about such Internet ad sites.
“Operation Hot Date was successful in proving that craigslist is still a one-stop shop for all your prostitution needs,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “Craigslist clearly continues to facilitate and derive profits from prostitution -- they receive $10.00 from each one of the advertisements placed by these prostitutes. Our investigation has just begun. We are not going to allow anyone to violate the law here in Polk County.”