Officers go undercover for prostitution sting in Salinas

Salinas police officers arrested five men after an undercover prostitution sting Thursday night.

It was the department’s first undercover prostitution operation since the restructuring last year.

The five men are now facing charges for engaging and soliciting prostitutes.

“We basically want it to stop in our neighborhoods,” said Sergeant George Lauricella with the Salinas Police Department.

“It is not going to be tolerated.”

Salinas Police decided to change their strategy for Thursday’s bust and go after who they call the “johns”.

“This is kind of going after the source of the problem, which is the johns, the guys who are out looking for sex,” said Sgt. Lauricella.

One officer who posed as a prostitute during the operation told KION the johns are out there on the streets.

“He said that he wanted me for a little 15 or 16-year-old boy seated in the passenger seat and the little boy kept smiling.”

Officers said the goal of these operations isn’t just to arrest the men looking to hire prostitutes, but it’s also about deterring others from going down that road.

One of the men arrested spoke with KION during the bust. He said, “I didn’t want to do it, but you know how women are and well we like it, but oh well it was my mistake.”

The suspects were cited and now face a court appearance.