Craigslist or Crimelist?? 13 arrested in Polk County

Craigslist or Crimelist?? 13 arrested in Polk County.

Well Craigslist is becoming crimelist.

Watch for the official name change soon…lol.(Just joking, there is no name change planned that I know of for Craigslist.)

Since Craigslist continuously refuses to remove the Erotic Section of their site, law enforcement in Polk County elected to use Craigslist to benefit them.

Undercover detectives posing as prostitutes went to work and posted their free ads for everyone to read.

Now I don’t understand how Craigslist can allow people to post the X rated pictures and ads you see there everyday. Any other X Rated site has to have warnings, membership areas , age verification and meet all these regulations to comply with law while Craigslist just does not care. Any child of any age can go right into Craigslist and see all the free porn pictures posted there free of charge.

Since Craigslist openly acknowledges the problems with the Erotic Section, they claim that removing the Erotic Section will only cause problems for other people posting in all the different categories.

(Check out Orlando Police Department in FL and click on MBI and you can read some of the very complaints the MBI has filed against Craigslist and you can read the response from Craigslist attorney)

I find this case to be pretty funny actually Craigslist refuses to work with Law Enforcement to address the prostitution problem on their site so Law Enforcement uses the same site to affect the arrest of 13 men in this one undercover sting.

The men arrested ranged from age of 33 and 74. The Sheriff’s Office reported that the men went to an undercover location to engage in sex with a female prostitute, however once they arrived they found Polk County Deputies waiting to arrest them.

The Sheriff said this is not the first time they have used the site for a sting operation.






Photo by Baynews9.com





According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, those arrested were

50-year-old Richard Paul Kemper, of Lithia. Kemper told detectives he is a Hillsborough County Middle School Teacher.

I guess we should be happy this teacher did not have sex with a student! lol

74-year old George L. Gressett of Poinciana - Gressett is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Gressett told detectives he was retired.

44-year old John Charles Renna of Lakeland - Renna is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Renna told detectives he is a self-employed electrician.

45-year old Mark Allyn Graffrath of Lakeland - Graffrath is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness, Prostitution and Battery. Graffrath told detectives he is a mechanic.

37-year old Bradley Richard Lowe of Winter Haven - Lowe is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Lowe told detectives he is a paint store manager.

50-year old Thomas David Castle of Riverview - Castle is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness. Castle told detectives he works for a software developer.

52-year old Anthony Avery Harvard of Winter Haven - Harvard is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Harvard told detectives he is a citrus buyer.

33-year old Gregory Daniel Polk of Apopka - Polk is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Polk told detectives he works in financial services.

44-year old Kerry K. Saruwatari of Lakeland - Saruwatari is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Saruwatari told detectives he is a software developer.

42-year old Richard F. Kronz of Davenport - Kronz is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness, Prostitution and Battery. Kronz told detectives he is a mechanic.

45-year old Terry Gene Lipply of Lakeland - Lipply is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness, Prostitution and Battery. Lipply told detectives he is a self-employed carpenter.

56-year old Gerald S. Chrethien of Plant City - Chretien is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Chrethien told detectives he is a truck driver.

42-year old Randy Thomas Whitfield of Lakeland - Whitfield is charged with Soliciting Another to Commit Lewdness and Prostitution. Whitfield told detectives he works in construction.

I don’t know what would be worse, getting caught or having my name and picture posted all over the internet to let everyone know that I had to resort to Craigslist for a male or female prostitute.

Oh well since I don’t use that service, my advice to you is not to use it either. If Craigslist was a responsible company and would make any attempt to block illegal ads, these 13 men may have never been arrested. But Craigslist stands firm that they do nothing wrong with what they do. Now with sting operations all over stemming from Craigslist, you never know who you are talking too to set up your erotic night.