In one day, five separate women offered an undercover Gainesville Police officer a total of $150 worth of sexual acts.
GPD arrested the women during an operation to crack down on Gainesville’s prostitution problem, which occurred on July 9 from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“The reason for details is citizen complaints and evidence of prostitution in certain areas,” GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias wrote in an email.
But the prostitution issue isn’t new to Gainesville.
Last November, GPD arrested five people in a similar undercover sweep, according to Alligator archives. Another undercover operation occurred last month, which resulted in four arrests, according to the June 27 police brief.
“We conduct these details as often as we can when we observe the criminal activity rising,” he said. “We are usually able to conduct anywhere from three to 10 per year.”
For this operation, officers used unmarked vehicles fitted with communication devices to later record the conversations with the arrested women, according to the police report.
“The details are usually dictated by crime statistics,” Tobias said. “There are officers in charge of the details, and a full support staff available to the (undercover) officer.”
Officers found Crystal Lashay Cook, 23, on Bo Diddley Plaza where she entered the undercover officer’s car and offered to give him oral sex for $30, according to the report.
On the report, she was listed as a student, but UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes confirmed she is not a current student at UF.
Around noon, the same officer noticed 46-year-old Dawn Dawson Putnam on the 2100 block of Southwest 13th Street where she entered the undercover vehicle and offered to give oral sex for $30, according to the report.
Putnam can be charged for felony prostitution because of her past illegal activities.
Four months ago, officers found Putnam searching for clients, which is a first degree misdemeanor, according to the Alachua County Clerk of Courts. She was placed on probation for a year.
Officers found Christine Fulford at 100 East University Ave. at about 2:15 p.m., where she entered the undercover officer’s car.
Fulford offered to give “head” in exchange for $20 but would only get a part of the money because she mediated with Lisa Barlow, 47, for the exchange, according to the report.
Officers found Cheryl Davis, 49, loitering in the area near the 1000 block of Southeast Fourth Avenue where she got in the undercover car and offered to give oral and vaginal sex to the officer for $50, according to Thursday’s police brief by Tobias.
“The (undercover) officer was able to make multiple arrests due to the level of active prostitutes out that day,” Tobias said.
[A version of this story ran on pages 1 - 4 on 7/15/2014 under the headline "Five arrested in undercover prostitution sting in Gainesville"]
