Brazen Young Facebook Pimpette Nabbed By Police After She Bragged About Her Crimes On Facebook

from the like? dept

Mon, Dec 1st 2014 9:18pm — Timothy Geigner

I'm always amazed at how often social media plays a role in the attempted exploits of dumb criminals. Whether it's posing with the merchandise they recently stole, posting a video of the crime itself, or sharing the police's bulletin seeking their arrest, our idiot bad guys just seem to love posting dumb stuff to Facebook in particular. But even correcting for a younger criminal, it's difficult not to judge someone unbelievably stupid in the era of online surveillance when they elect to run their underage prostitution ring on Facebook and coordinate their illicit business via Facebook's messaging app. Yet, that's apparently exactly what a young seventeen-year-old girl did, along with her partners.

At least one act of prostitution took place, police said, leading to the arrest of John Michael Mosher, 21, who reportedly paid $40 and a bottle of liquor to have sex with a 15-year-old girl, the newspaper reported. Police said the ring came to light after four students confided to Venice High School administrators. The Sarasota High student and at least one other student concocted the business plan over the summer to prostitute other teenagers for payments of money and alcohol, according to police documents.

"Why pimp out old hoes when I have fresh young hoes I can give up for money?" the Sarasota High student wrote in one Facebook exchange to a business partner, adding, "As long as I'm getting paid I'm trafficking all these (expletive deleted)."

And why bother trying to hide this kind of conversation about illicit dealings when you can discuss your "hoes" over a text-based social media chat application that's part of a website the average person is informed enough to distrust as a matter of privacy? It takes the supremely uninformed to think that these kinds of messages are secure, never mind that putting them in text in the first place ensures that the conversations can be reproduced at a later date. Like, say, when other students in the school that knew what was going on decided to turn against our would-be criminal mastermind.

Worse yet, it appears that all the coordinating for these deals was likewise done via Facebook.

Students told officers that the Sarasota High student coordinated at least three prostitution deals — including the one with the 15-year-old — by using Facebook private messaging.

See, it may be called "private" messaging, but that doesn't mean those messages can't be used to put you in prison. On the other hand, it's nice to see our dumb criminals are starting their act at a younger age, I guess. Keeps them off the streets earlier, I suppose.

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Filed Under: criminals, pimp, prostitution, social media
Companies: facebook

29 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2014 @ 9:29pm

Victimless crime
Well it was a victimless crime, so calling her a criminal is technically correct, but arranging for consenting individuals to have sex is no more wrong than arranging other voluntary social transactions.

I fail to see what's wrong other than the stupid law.
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David, 1 Dec 2014 @ 10:03pm

Re: Victimless crime
Well, there is an age of consent for a reason (an age threshold beyond there are limits to exploiting stupidity possibly leaving permanent scars), so "victimless" is something one cannot really guess at even assuming this had not blown into publicity.

But once everybody is dragged through the courts, there will be victims, and society is set up in a manner where this was predictable.

There is enough of a potential market for underage girls and enough of possible exploitation with permanent consequences for the involved and their ability to make their own life choices later on that graded criminalization seems like the lesser evil than "letting things run their course" in which the tables are tilted against the systematically weaker party.
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MunkiLord (profile), 1 Dec 2014 @ 10:04pm

Re: Victimless crime
Turning minors into prostitutes is not a victimless crime. The sex act itself was statutory rape since the child was fifteen and the john was twenty-one. Making money off rape is a crime with a victim.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2014 @ 10:16pm

Re: Victimless crime
Then prosecute for the statutory rape and prove it in court.

But if both parties are legally speaking allowed to have sex, I fail to see what's wrong with the transaction because it includes money for sex or a third party arranging the exchange.

If Lis and Joe can have sex, because both are above 15, there is no victim, whether or not money is involved.
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Ehud Gavron (profile), 1 Dec 2014 @ 10:45pm

Victim - English language
Dumb is the inability to speak.

Perhaps you meant "stupid" or "idiot".

Don't be dumb in your apology now, ya'hear?

E
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Dec 2014 @ 11:36pm

Florida. Of course.
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Ricky, 1 Dec 2014 @ 11:46pm

Re: Re: Victimless crime
I didn't know sex trafficking was a victimless crime.

Seeing how the 17-year-old entrepreneur called her business plan "trafficking" and all.

That's the kind of word I'd run away from really fast if I wanted my business to have the veneer of consensual legitimacy.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 12:33am

Re: Re: Victimless crime
So what, even if the actors were above the age of consent for having sex, the nanny state would still try to suppress the business.

Prostitution in itself is a victimless crime except where rape, violence and other acts of coercion inhibit tfree consent.

Since rape, violence and threats are already illegal, a prostitution law makes mno sense -- except in situation where the state can already prosecute for other crimes.

The only remaining justification for a prostitution ban is an effort to suppress the commercialization of sex which is no legitimate state interest.
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David, 2 Dec 2014 @ 12:45am

Re:
Florida. Of course.

[Insert dumb joke about criminalization of family reunions]
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 1:21am

Re: Victim - English language
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dumb

adjective, dumber, dumbest.
1. lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted.
2. lacking the power of speech (offensive when applied to humans)
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Mora, 2 Dec 2014 @ 2:25am

Criminal stupidity...
Dumb criminals have always been bragging, always telling their "peers" about their exploits -- it's just that the default method of telling have turned into one that is far more permanent than just a colourful story told over a pint of beer.
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snidely (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 4:02am

Stay in School
If she had just stayed in school until she had her PHD (Pimpin' Ho's Degree) she would have known to avoid this traceable communication.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 5:46am

Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
"The only remaining justification for a prostitution ban is an effort to suppress the commercialization of sex which is no legitimate state interest."

I've heard that prostitution is actually legal in most places with a contract in place. It's known as marrying for money.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 7:59am

And another case where skin color determines how much fuck people give.
40$ is pretty hilarious thou
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MunkiLord (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 9:34am

Re: Re: Victimless crime
Both parties are not legally allowed to have sex. Your hypothetical does not apply here. They were selling minors for sex. This isn't a morally gray area.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 9:44am

Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
"The only remaining justification for a prostitution ban is an effort to suppress the commercialization of sex..."

How much does the porn industry make a year? Isn't it one of the largest industries in the world? Yeah, sex has been commercialized. There is no legitimate justification.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 9:50am

Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
Calling it trafficking and it being trafficking are two different things. It's like someone calling themselves "Original Gangster" but they're not walking around in suits with Tommy guns in violin cases. This person was obviously not that intelligent, she probably didn't understand what human trafficking is.
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DavyB (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 9:58am

Re: Pimpette
Clearly a naîve and terminally stupid hoe!
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John Fenderson (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 10:22am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
Agreed. I have never understood, even a little, why prostitution itself is a crime. I don't see any difference between being a prostitute and being employed in any other field: in all cases, we are exchanging the use of our bodies for money.

When minors or coercion are involved, the equation changes, as it should. This, too, is no different than with any other line of work and has nothing to do with prostitution specifically.
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Mason Wheeler (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 10:39am

Re: Victimless crime
What makes you think that what happened there was either 1) victimless or 2) consensual? Most prostitution is not the first by reason of not being the second.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 12:51pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
Were you two having sex in exchange for money?

Yes officer.

You realize that's illegal, don't you?

We filmed it.

Oh. That's OK then. Carry on.
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Julian Calaby, 2 Dec 2014 @ 3:03pm

Re: Victimless crime
The facts of the case are:

1. A 15 year old and 21 year old had sex.

I believe the age of consent is either 16 or 18, so the 21yo will be prosecuted as a rapist regardless of the actual details of the case. The law says that he's a rapist, therefore he'll be tried as one. The law also says that the 15yo is a victim in this particular crime.

2. $40 and a bottle of alcohol changed hands explicitly to purchase this encounter.

That's prostitution: sex happened + payment. The 15yo being a minor makes this child prostitution which I believe is seriously illegal. Again, the 15yo will be explicitly named as the victim. If the 17yo so much as was given a sip from the bottle, she profited from it, so therefore she'll be named an accomplice or pimp or whatever and get fingered for child sex trafficking or something similar.

Now I'm sure that what happened is that all three were acquaintances and:
- the 15yo wanted a sexual experience
- the 21yo was happy to oblige
- the 17yo set it up as she'd done with some other acquaintances
- the 21yo gave the cash and booze as a thank-you gift
and finally
- the 17yo made a joke on Facebook about it

However the law is pretty explicit about stuff like this and as far as it's concerned, everyone's done something wrong so everyone's going to get dragged through the courts here.
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Willard Seehorn (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 3:25pm

pimpin hos
I trust that the law will now go after Facebook the same way that it went after Craigslist, for enabling prostitution.

Seems like it would be more accurate to say that both are enabling the arrest of dumb F**is.

C/L and FB should be commended for getting criminals off the street.
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btr1701 (profile), 2 Dec 2014 @ 5:28pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
> I have never understood, even a little, why prostitution itself
> is a crime. I don't see any difference between being a prostitute
> and being employed in any other field: in all cases, we are
> exchanging the use of our bodies for money.

Indeed. And all the evils that the anti-prostitution folks always cite in defense of these laws (violence against the girls, violence against the johns, drug use, spread of disease, etc.) all go away once it's legalized. One only needs to look at the legal brothels in Nevada to see that. All those bad things only happen *because* it's illegal.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 7:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
"We filmed it.
Oh. That's OK then. Carry on."

In California (thanks to Hollywood). In the other states it's still prostitution. That's why California is the porn capital.
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Anonymous Coward, 2 Dec 2014 @ 7:33pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
"Agreed. I have never understood, even a little, why prostitution itself is a crime."

Because ... sex!
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Dec 2014 @ 1:59am

Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
Technically trafficking means only dealing in something illegal. You can traffic in installation of high flow toilets, or parking ticket fixing. Although yeah, it is heavily associated with illicit sex slavery.
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nasch (profile), 3 Dec 2014 @ 10:17am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Victimless crime
In California (thanks to Hollywood). In the other states it's still prostitution.

It's illegal to pay actors to make porn in other states?
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Dec 2014 @ 12:12am

They're kids!
This is one of my least favorite stories I've ever read on TechDirt. The comments are pretty predictable, but one thing I cannot appreciate is the snarky attitude to this situation. This is a kid. Heck, all of them are kids when you come down to it. This is not a 'criminal mastermind' and these plans were obviously not hatched with Oceans 11 precision or forethought. Maybe it's the fact that I had friends who previously attended those schools that sets me off, but damn. You should try another title "Young girl and boy do something stupid, get caught, and are punished." Worthless clickbait.
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