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Arrest in Beaver Township third in month for prostitution
By JOE GORMAN
BEAVER
The arrest of a Middleton Township woman last week on prostitution charges was the third in a little more than a week, says police Chief Carl Frost.
Cortni Danielle Rankin, 22, pleaded no contest Tuesday in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield to two separate charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, and a count of possession of drug abuse instruments. A charge of promoting prostitution was dismissed provided that Rankin pay the costs.
She was sentenced to a total of 180 days in jail, with 176 days suspended and credit for four days served. She was arrested at the Liberty Inn on Market Street next to the Penn Ohio Truck Plaza on May 21 by an undercover township officer assigned to the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force.
A woman who identified herself as the manager at the Liberty Inn said she did not want to comment.
Frost said Rankin was arrested after officers checked several websites where woman advertise for prostitution services, and the undercover officer found her advertisement and agreed to meet her there. He also said she is a dancer at a nearby adult entertainment establishment.
On May 13, an undercover officer agreed to meet with two women in a similar set up and they were arrested on prostitution charges on their way to a different hotel in the area, Frost said.
Frost said he has noticed an increase in prostitution-related activity within the last year and he said it is because of increased drug usage in the surrounding area.
When Rankin was arrested, police found syringes and a spoon with her, police reports said.
Frost said he first noticed an increase in prostitution activity about a year ago and said an upsurge in heroin usage is fueling the activity, because prostitution allows the women to earn the money needed to buy the drug.
“It’s the heroin out there. It’s a big problem,” Frost said.
Frost said Rankin has been arrested by his department for drug abuse charges in the past but this is the first time she has ever had a prostitution charge.
There are several different websites that are used by women who advertise their services and he says he has an officer monitor them, although he would not say how often that is done.