Boston-area hookers are advertising their services on the popular craigslist.com Web site, The Boston Herald reported on Sunday.
“Craigslist has made it much easier for women to negate in this sort of business,” Detective Sgt. Jimmy Fong of the Boston Police Department told the newspaper.
The Web site, said to be popular among apartment hunters and job seekers, is now being used by prostitutes seeking meet dates in local hotels, apartments or cars in secluded parking lots.
As part of a two-week investigation by the Herald, eight women were contacted by reporters by telephone or e-mail and meetings were arranged within 15 to 30 minutes.
In East Boston, a Herald reporter responding to an ad indicating a trio of “young, sexy and willing” women, met a woman in her 30s with a pockmarked face at a dingy apartment she shared with two other women. But when they were informed the John was a reporter, the three consulted with each other and left with a man driving a 1991 Mercury Grand Marquis.
Jim Buckmaster, craigslist CEO, said prostitution is prohibited on the site, though ads for massage and legal escorts are allowed.
But he added that it’s nearly impossible to weed out illegal prostitution ads since some could be disguised as massage or legal escort ads.
But Fong said he doesn’t buy the argument.
“They just say that as a way to cover themselves.”
