Norton Man Charged in Prostitution Sting: ACLU Criticizes Police

Photo: Steven Harrop. (Credit: Cranston police)

NORTON, MA — The American Civil Liberties Union criticized a prostitution sting that resulted in a Norton man's arrest last week.

Steven Harrop, 52, of 184 N. Worcester St., was charged with procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. He was arraigned and released.

Harrop was one of 17 people arrested in the sting, which was conducted by several police agencies using the controversial classifieds site backpage.com.

One person, a 21-year-old Providence woman, was charged with human trafficking for allegedly bringing a 16-year-old girl in response to an advertisement.

Police said the sting operation targeted human trafficking and prostitution, but the ACLU took issue with it.

"By humiliating and charging johns for seeking consensual sex and by giving prostitutes arrest records in the name of 'helping' them, these operations misleadingly purport to crack down on human trafficking, when their major effect is just to make the lives of prostitutes more difficult and dangerous, driving sex work even deeper into the shadows," the ACLU said in a statement.

Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist disagreed.

"If we arrest only one human trafficker, or save at least one young person being victimized out of the many other arrests we make for procuring sexual conduct for a fee, the operation is a success and well worth the effort," Winquist said in a statement. "We will not shield the identities of individuals who come into the City of Cranston looking to pay for sex and will continue to be transparent by making the names of those arrested available to the public through our Department website and media releases.”

Previous

• Norton Man Arrested in Prostitution Sting

Subscribe to Norton Patch news alerts