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Seekonk, Mass.

Search Legal Notices

7 arrested in local prostitution string

12:37 AM EST on Wednesday, January 23, 2008

By Richard Salit

Journal Staff Writer

SEEKONK — The police say they set up a sting at a local motel last weekend to arrest prostitutes they contacted through craigslist.org, the popular classified advertising Web site.

On Friday, a task force made up of Seekonk, Swansea and East Providence police secured rooms at the Motel 6 on Fall River Avenue, according to a police report. From 8:30 through 11:30 p.m., they arrested women who allegedly entered one of the rooms and offered to have sex for money with an undercover detective. Some of the women arrived in pairs.

The police arranged the meetings by contacting the suspected prostitutes by cell phone and asking them to meet in a specific room at the motel, according to the report. While one officer positioned himself in the room, the other members of the task force conducted audio and video surveillance in an adjacent room. After the women allegedly offered services ranging in price from $150 to $500, the task force members entered the room and arrested the suspects.

Sgt. Anthony Araujo said yesterday that no other details were immediately available on how exactly craigslist and Motel 6 figured into the sting.

The police arrested the following women, charging each with sexual conduct for a fee: Felicia Lebrun, 19; Christina Tamburello, 24; Emily Duhamel, 30; Tajuana Littlejohn, 20; Philippa Hartmayer, 25; Nicole Woods, 24, and Chanel Evora, 24. No addresses were available for the suspects. All were released on bail until they are arraigned.

Yesterday, craigslist.org featured listings in Seekonk that appeared to offer sex for money. The women, whose erotic pictures appeared in the ad, listed phone numbers where they could be contacted.

One said, “You must host. No exception. Providing outcalls to the local area only. Providence, Pawtucket, East Providence, Seekonk, Riverside, Rumford.”

rsalit@projo.com