Human Trafficking Officers Arrest 21 In Fort Collins Sex Sting

FORT COLLINS, CO -- Twenty-one men seeking sex for money got a surprise when they showed up at agreed-upon hotels in Larimer County last month -- they were met with police officers instead of sex workers. Fort Collins police and Larimer Co. human trafficking officers announced they conducted an online prostitution sting operation in January.

Fort Collins police placed fake ads for one day in "escort sections of common buy/sell/trade websites," according to a police statement. A total of 444 potential clients responded to the ads, and 21 men scheduled appointments to pay for sexual services on the day of the sting. In total, the cited men had agreed to spend $2,745 in exchange for sexual acts, Fort Collins police said in a statement.

“Many citizens don't believe prostitution or human trafficking is an issue in Northern Colorado. Operations like this indicate otherwise,” said FCPS Officer Rob Knab, in a statement. The FCPS Neighborhood Enforcement Team specializes on regional human trafficking issues.

At an 8-hour mandatory "John School" first offenders work with local therapist Chris Bruno to "challenge the myth that prostitution is a 'victimless crime,'" a press release said.

Statistics for prostitution and sex trafficking in the U.S.:

• 90% of prostituted women were victims of childhood sexual abuse
• 89% were younger than 16 when they were first forced to sell sex
• 96% were runaway youth
• Women leaving the sex trade have post-traumatic stress disorder at rates almost two times higher than combat veterans

“Our overall goal is to eradicate human trafficking, and more specifically to make Northern Colorado an inhospitable environment for this insidious crime to grow,” said Bruno in a statement.

Police warn that this sting will be followed by others.

To learn more about human trafficking in Northern Colorado, visit http://larimerantitrafficking.com.

A first-annual Northern Colorado Human Trafficking Symposium will be held Feb. 22 at Colorado State University, visit humantraffickingsymposium.com.

This story has been updated to clarify that statistics given for human trafficking represent populations across the U.S., not Northern Colorado.

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