Police have arrested four women and filed 14 arrest warrants following a five-month undercover investigation of two local escort agencies that allegedly provide illicit sexual services.
Within the next month, authorities hope to file between 30 and 40 arrest warrants and conduct between five and 10 arrests weekly, said Salt Lake Police Vice Squad Sgt. Ken Hansen. The warrants are for women who have been employed in the past with Cinderella Escort Service and Snow White escort agency."We're hoping to end illegal activities within escort agencies," Hansen said. However, it is unlikely that escort services can stay in business without providing explicit sexual services, he said.
"Most clients we've found want some sexual act or stimulation," he said. "A lot of the (women) were involved in acts of prostitution."
The women charged a $120 show-up fee and gleaned tips ranging from $50 to hundreds of dollars, often depending on sex acts performed, Hansen said. The escorts also violated laws by conducting business outside the city, including in Davis, Weber, Cache and Utah counties.
Using three search warrants at the offices of both escort services and the home of one of the owners, police seized a list of 10,000 clients of Cinderella, one of Utah's largest escort services, and a list of 2,000 clients of Snow White. Other items seized include schedules, receipts, payroll records, computer records and videos.
"Some of the information on client cards is revealing," Hansen said. "We will be working on more serious charges now."
The clients include Wasatch Front residents and out-of-state travelers, Hansen said.
During the undercover operation, police posed as repeat customers, and a female officer served as a booking agent, Hansen said. Each encounter was videotaped to protect the officers involved.
The women often revealed information about the services' illegal activity and performed illegal sex acts, according to the search warrants. Often the women also promised to perform sex acts for money on future encounters. None of the undercover officers performed illegal acts, Hansen said.
"We'd already had the cases made before we made the (four) arrests," Hansen said. Additional arrests will be made based on the information gathered during the searches.