Dunwoody officials said they’ve figured out a way to give police the power to prosecute pimps who previously exploited a legal loophole.
The City Council unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance last week to make sex sting operations at hotels and motels more effective, according to prosecutors. The ordinance also gives police a way to arrest pimps — people who drop off women at those locations to solicit sex.
While police can arrest the women offering these sexual services, city leaders said prostitutes are often victims of sex trafficking and can be underage. Their primary goal is to arrest their pimps.
Councilwoman Stacey Harris told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Dunwoody is the first metro Atlanta city to make these changes, and she hopes other cities will follow suit.
“I challenge our neighbors — Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Doraville, Chamblee — read this ordinance and help us,” Harris said during an Oct. 11 meeting. “It’s a good ordinance and it can help us get the bad guys, and I challenge you to follow us.”
City Attorney Bill Riley said the city’s prior municipal code was too vague, limiting prostitution and sex solicitation charges to places “open to the public.” He said defense attorneys have recently argued that doesn’t apply to hotel and motels in the city. That line has now been removed from the city’s code.
Police Sgt. Robert Parsons said the city conducts a handful of sting operations each year. Over the past five years, the city has made more than 100 arrests during those investigations, but they’ve run into issues in the courtroom, especially with pimps who only briefly visit these hotels and motels to drop off and pick up women.
“It was hard to develop probable cause to charge them despite us knowing who they are and what they’re doing, sometimes violently,” Parsons told the AJC on Monday.
The ordinance also makes it illegal to transport people for the purpose of prostitution or sex solicitation. Harris said the changes will make a huge difference in helping police keep pimps off the streets.
“I’m so proud of our attorneys and police department for putting teeth and legality in an ordinance where we can go after those repugnant individuals,” she said Monday. “... This is something real and tangible that we can do to help catch criminals, and I hope other cities pay attention.”
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