Attorney Among Sting Arrests

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Police cast the bait about a week before their first arrest of Howard Orfield, a Bristol, Tenn., attorney.

Orfield, 49, was one of more than 50 people who responded to a fake online personal ad police posted in their latest prostitution sting, detectives said Monday.

The ad was posted in the “casual encounters” section of the popular classified Web site craigslist, and was “worded in a way that a woman was staying in a hotel for a few days and looking for some company,” said Kingsport Police Detective Tim Crawford, one of several vice detectives who worked the sting.

“We got him hook, line and sinker,” Crawford said of Orfield’s arrest on April 22.

Orfield, who lost a 2006 Republican bid for Sullivan County General Sessions Division 1 judge and whose law offices are on the Volunteer Parkway, was the one of three “johns” arrested that night, Kingsport Detective Nathan Elliott said.

The other two arrested were Christopher Sons, 21, of Gate City, Va., and James Fullerton, 29, from Gallitin, Tenn. The three men were each charged with soliciting prostitution, which is a misdemeanor.

The other two, Rebecca and Patrick Barrett, of Kingsport, were arrested after police said they responded to an ad the couple posted indicating they were willing to engage in sexual activity in front of others for money, Elliott said. Both were charged with prostitution, also a misdemeanor.

The craigslist sting was just the latest of several the department has conducted over the last 18 months, since the Web site has “really exploded” locally, Crawford said.

“Oh, it’s huge. Have you looked at it?” he said Monday.

In November, seven people were arrested in a similar sting, Crawford said. The department regularly monitors the site, making single arrests on occasion, Elliott said.

Craigslist is a global site with local pages in every state and many countries. There are seven Tennessee localities that have sites, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Jackson, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville and the Tri-Cities. It’s classified advertising to the extreme – a place where folks can pretty much buy, trade and sell just about anything.

Sexual solicitation is not legal on the site, but coded ads that those in the sex market know to look for have become popular, Elliott said.

“There will be a lot of dollar symbols in the response, or they’ll say ‘I’m a very generous man looking for some fun $$$.’ Some of the e-mails will use the word ‘gifts’ a lot.” Elliott said. “The casual encounters section is sort of the ‘no strings attached’ section.”

Of the more than 50 people who responded to the fake ad, “honestly, half of the people were just wanting to date or party,” Elliott said. “We just cut them off.”

About 20 respondees had phone conversations with Kingsport Detective Melanie Adkins, who posed as the woman behind the ad, Elliott said. Of them, about 10 showed up; the five arrested and several others who “got nervous,” and didn’t go through with it, Elliott said.

On each craigslist posting there is an anonymous e-mail link. The e-mail is programmed to redirect to the private e-mail of the person who posted the ad – which protects their identity.

In order to be charged with soliciting prostitution, there must be a verbal deal made in person in which the “john” agrees to pay to watch or engage in sexual activity, Elliott said.

Adkins said payment was discussed during the phone conversations and again when the person showed up at the hotel where the sting operation took place. She would not say exactly how much money was agreed upon.

Adkins, who has played a role in similar stings, said online prostitution is growing fast in this area and those at the department want to fight it before “it snowballs,” she said.

Fullerton was the only person arrested April 22 who could be reached for comment Monday night.

“I didn’t have any money on me, the police illegally searched my car and there wasn’t any money in there, either,” he said, declining further comment.

One call made to Orfield’s office Monday night was picked up and immediately hung up. A second call went straight to voicemail. There was a busy signal to calls made to his home phone throughout Monday night.

Elliott said he could not elaborate on the specifics of what occurred at the hotel, which was not identified.

Generally, there are two common questions from those arrested in such operations, whether it’s going to appear in the newspaper and if there’s anything they can do to get out of the situation, Crawford said.

The detective said craigslist is not inherently dangerous, but those using it should exercise caution.

“Just stick to the sections you’re looking for. You might find that fishing rod you’ve been looking for, but not under one of the erotic sections,” he said.

Three of the five were arraigned in Sullivan County General Sessions Court Monday morning, court documents show.

Orfield’s hearing is scheduled for May 28 at 1 p.m.; Fullerton and Sons are scheduled to appear on June 25 at 9:30 a.m.

ahunter@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531