GREENVILLE, SC (WYFF) - The
South Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is
accusing the Greenville County Sheriff's Office routinely making
unlawful arrests of women they suspect of being prostitutes and men who
have sex with men, even though they haven't broken any laws.
The
ACLU says it sent a letter to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and
the State Solicitor's Office on Wednesday demanding that "the local
police department stop violating the constitutional rights of innocent
people under the guise of enforcing public decency laws."
The ACLU
said the letter "outlines several incidents in which undercover officers
approached people parked in their cars, sitting on their own porches or
walking down the street and asked suspects to engage in illegal sexual
activity, including prostitution and having sex in a public place. The
individuals either declined or offered to engage in lawful private
sexual contact, but were arrested anyway."
"Consenting
adults should not be arrested for acts that don't break any laws," said
Victoria Middleton, executive director of the ACLU of South Carolina.
"These sting operations enable officers to make as many arrests as
possible, while they do nothing to stop actual criminal activity from
occurring."
The ACLU website says, "Illegal
arrests involve sting operations against suspected prostitutes and men
who have sex with men. Officers have repeatedly arrested individuals for
being in places known to be frequented by prostitutes, for being 'known
prostitutes,' or merely saying they'd 'think about it' when officers
approached them to solicit illegal activity. Officers have also arrested
men who have sex with men even when the suspects clearly sought to
engage in private, consensual, non-commercial sex instead of sex in a
public location."
"In
one case, an undercover officer offered a woman a ride and tried to
persuade her to accept money in exchange for sex. While she said she
wouldn't do 'the prostitution thing,' they continued discussing a place
where they could have sex, and the woman rubbed the inside of the
officer's thigh. She was arrested for sexual assault and battery and
loitering to engage in prostitution. A similar incident occurred when a
man was arrested for assault for touching a male officer who asked to
engage in oral sex."
Ezekiel
Edwards, director of the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project, said on the
website that the "decoy operations" waste taxpayer dollars and are not
effective.
Edwards
said, "The people who have been arrested in these stings are being
humiliated and harassed for no lawful reason. Innocent people should not
be trapped for engaging in their legal right to ask to have sex in
private with another adult."
To read the letter that was sent to the Sheriff's Office, click here.
In
a release Thursday afternoon, GCSO Lt. Michael Hildebrand said: "We
have seen the information online, but have not received any official
notification from the ACLU. We will be speaking with the Solicitor's
Office and the County Attorney's office about the information contained
in their letter. Until we have had time to review the information
contained in their letter, I could not speak about any specifics they
are referencing."
