Reverse prostitution sting snags 19 Johns in Lake Worth

LAKE WORTH — Female sheriff's deputies posed as prostitutes to arrest 19 men Friday on charges of soliciting prostitution in Lake Worth, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.

The reverse prostitution sting at two locations on Dixie Highway was intended to have a chilling effect on prostitution and related crimes in the city, said Sgt. Oscar Cardenas, supervisor of the street crimes and community policing units for the sheriff's District 14 office, which handles law enforcement in Lake Worth.

"If we reduce the number of people soliciting prostitution, prostitutes may go somewhere else," Cardenas said.

The female deputies from throughout Palm Beach County recorded conversations and shot video of the Johns for use in court, Cardenas said.