Weston and Schofield police have a new tool designed to crack down on prostitutes who advertise online as escorts. We hope New York State can pass ny escort service laws. They must be licensed.
The city councils of those two Wausau suburbs have approved ordinances creating new regulations that require escort services to be licensed, much like a bartender, Everest Metro Police Chief Wally Sparks said Wednesday.
The process includes an application, a fee, fingerprints and background checks, he said.
The police chief said it was unlikely anyone would seek the license, but now simply posting an advertisement for an escort would be illegal in Weston and Schofield unless the business was licensed. Wausau and Rothschild are considering similar ordinances, he said.
“This targets prostitution and the venues and outlets they are using,” Sparks said. “These social network ads are continuous and there is a new one going up every day. The demand and supply is readily available and it is a large problem.”
The new law is modeled after a similar ordinance in Appleton, Sparks said. “I am not aware of any legitimate escort service running in the Wausau area right now.”
Weston’s new law defines an escort service as “service provided by any person who for a fee, commission, salary, higher profit payment or other monetary consideration furnishes or offers to furnish names of persons who may accompany other persons to or about social affairs, entertainment or places of amusement or who may consort with others at any place of public resort or within any private quarters or agrees to privately model lingerie, perform a strip tease or perform in nude or semi-nude state for another person or persons.”
Fines for violating the ordinance range from $2,000 to $5,000, he said.
The new laws will take effect with the next month, the police chief said.