Sex sting nets 14 arrests in Farmington

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 22, 2007

FARMINGTON — Police have arrested 14 men, including a local pastor, in a nearly monthlong sting targeting sex in a public park.

The men are accused of exposing themselves, groping or propositioning sex from male plainclothes Farmington officers at Boyd Park, which is near a school. The park was one of five sexual liaison locations in the city listed on an online message board.

Police released details of the alleged crimes in an effort to help shut down the meeting spots.

“If it was in the home, the public wouldn’t know and wouldn’t care,” Sgt. Pat Cordell said Monday. “It’s doing it in the park that’s not acceptable.”

The investigation began when police received complaints from people witnessing sex acts as they walked in the park and at the nearby school.

Police conducted a trial run Aug. 2, sending plainclothes officers in at noon and 5:30 p.m., times detailed on the Web site. They made two arrests in less than two hours.
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Last Friday, they arrested six men in about five hours. On Saturday, six more were arrested.

Eleven men were charged with public nuisance, while three were arrested on lewd and immoral acts charges.

Police said they plan to continue the operation at the other locations listed on the site, including a local video store, a retail shopping center, a health club and Brookside Park.

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