WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police — along with many law enforcement agencies — are seeing an influx of cases in which people respond to online ads for prostitution and are instead robbed.
The suspects mainly come from the Sacramento area, and set up shop in a hotel for about two days. They then advertise their services on the website backpage.com.
While many of the suspects offer prostitution services, they also frequently rob the clients.
“It’s very common,” Watsonville Police Sgt. Mish Radich said.
The frequency at which this occurs is likely higher than is reported, since many victims are hesitant to call the police, he said.
In one case, four people who were arrested on May 29 are suspected of setting up a fake prostitution meeting with a man around 1 p.m. at the Motel 6 on Silver Leaf Drive at South Green Valley Road.
At one point the group claimed to have a weapon and threatened the victim.
Watsonville Police stopped the suspects soon after the suspects fled. Two men and two women of Sacramento were ordered from the car at gunpoint and detained for questioning.
The victim, who was not charged, claimed he came from San Francisco for a massage.
On June 5, a group of suspects fled after robbing another victim at the same motel with a similar scam.
The backpage.com site appears to be a smaller version of Craigslist, offering free ads for people wishing to sell things, job offers and other services.
Anyone who clicks the “massage” section, or the “men seeking women” tab, will find dozens of what appear to be ads by young women offering sexual services.
Anyone considering such an offer, however, should think twice, Radich said.
“If you’re going to a motel for any kind of a service, it’s probably illegal, and you’re risking your safety by doing it,” he said.
