5 Women, 1 Man Busted in New Jersey Prostitution Sting

A total of six people have been arrested and charged with various offenses relating to prostitution after police conducted a days-long investigation in North Jersey.

On Jan. 19 Chester police arrested a woman who had fallen asleep in the rear parking lot of one of the business on Main Street in Chester, Chief David Jara said. That woman, Raquel Castillo, 27, of Columbus, Ohio, was found to have an outstanding warrant for prostitution for her arrest out of Guttenberg, New Jersey. During an investigation Castillo could not explain why she fell asleep in her vehicle behind the business, Jara said. She was released pending a court appearance.

Conducting a follow-up investigation the next day, Det. Shaun Horst ran a phone number given by Castillo and learned the woman had posted an advertisement for an escort on Backpage.com, a website known to be a front for prostitution, Jara said.

Posing as an interested customer, Horst contacted Castillo and a meeting was set up, Jara said. The two discussed money would be exchanged for sex, and once Castillo arrived at the location, she was taken into custody, Jara said.

At that point Castillo admitted to meeting with a customer in Chester the night she was found asleep behind a Main Street business and did have sexual relations for money, Jara said.

With the name and contact information of Castillo’s customer, Horst contacted the man, Michael McSherry, 58, of Jenks, Oklahoma, and arranged a meeting, posing as a female escort. Once the meeting was set up, Horst used a female police officer to the play the role of the escort, Jara said.

When the two met in person, they discussed there would be sex for money, at which point McSherry was taken into custody. During an investigation, McSherry admitted using several “escorts” while staying in Chester Borough, Jara said.

Horst and Jara then began two-day operation into prostitution ring, and subsequently made four more arrests. They include:

• Lara C. Chavarria, 31, of Newark, charged with prostitution.
• Ashley N. Perdomo, 24, of Newark, charged with possession of cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance. She was a passenger in Chavarria’s vehicle.
• Courtney A. Robinson, 23, of N. Plainfield, charged with prostitution.
• Kian Bond, 23, of Plainfield, outstanding warrant out of Plainfield, and driving while suspended.
• Jamie Lynn Brown, 35, of Pine Hill, charged with prostitution.

The female suspects were all given information on social services and help groups throughout the state. None of them stated they were involved in human trafficking organizations or being held against their will or forced to perform work, Jara said.

“The purpose of this operation was to make it known that Chester Borough Police Department will not allow prostitutes posing as “Escorts” to work within the borders of Chester Borough. Chester Borough is a tight knit, family oriented community. Our residents deserve the peace of mind that incidents like this are not occurring in Chester Borough,” said Jara. “I would like to commend all my officers for the outstanding job done during the operations and for the successful outcome of the detail.”
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