Where is the most common place for someone to get busted for soliciting sex or prostitution? You might think it is on the streets or in a shady motel, but the answer may surprise you.
Shockingly, it has been shown that in Houston, Texas, most prostitution busts happen in high-end hotels. What’s more, half of the top 20 luxury hotels where these prostitution and sex crimes busts happened are owned by Hilton Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels Group and Marriott International. This discovery is the result of an analysis conducted by the Houston Police Department (HPD).
HPD also confirmed that they conduct frequent prostitution stings in these hotels and even succeeded in making arrests. The fact is that officers prefer collaborating with high-end hotel owners to make their sting operations on prostitution and sex offense busts.
The information obtained by HPD includes addresses for all the prostitution and sex crimes arrests they have made from Houston hotels dating back from January 2012 up to July 2017.
Topping the list was Hyatt Regency, located at 1200 Louisiana Street. It had 136 police arrests, followed by JW Marriott 5150 Westheimer Road with over 80 arrests.
Hotels Partnering with the Police
According to the HPD, the reason these high-end hotels recorded the highest number of arrests is that they use them to conduct their investigations. Police collaborate with hotel management and they make use of the facilities in their offices to prepare for human trafficking cases before they even happen.
Tom Netting, the managing director of Hyatt Regency since 2013, said that the hotel topped the list due to its collaboration with HPD on sting operations carried out in the hotel.
Also noteworthy, these same locations were favorite spots for girls seeking high paying clients and it also provided them with a safe and secure environment to carry out their businesses.
Other hotels that were on the list of top ten include:
- Houston Galleria – 61 arrests linked to prostitution
- Crowne Plaza Houston – 54 arrests
- The Four Points – 51 prostitution arrests
- Houston Marriott South Hotel – 48 arrests
- Sterling Inn & Suites – 40 arrests
- Hotel Sorella Court – 40 arrests
- Hilton Americas – 31 arrests
- Omni Houston Hotel – 27 prostitution arrests
This does not mean that police do not make any arrests in the low-end hotels. Such sex crimes also occur in motels, but police are increasingly choosing to work with the renowned hotels to carry out their stings.
Texas Prostitution Laws
According to Texas laws, prostitution is a crime since there is an exchange of money for sex services even when those offers do not lead to sexual activities. In Texas, prostitution is as a class B misdemeanor but can rise to class A for people with at least one prior conviction. If the guilty party has more than two prior convictions, matters may escalate to state jail imprisonment that exceeds one year.
Texas Prostitution Fines and Penalties
For a first-time arrest, the penalty is 180 days in jail and a fine of no more than $2,000. However, if it is not your first time, your jail time increases and so do the fines. The offense is a misdemeanor to a felony.