BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- A three-month investigation in Covington has resulted in the arrests of nine alleged prostitutes.
The women were rounded up Thursday afternoon and evening and arrested on warrants gathered by the Covington Police Department's crime suppression unit. Investigators used undercover male officers to find the women, who were identified and photographed.
Officers still hoped to round up people on 18 more outstanding warrants.
Also Thursday, an undercover female police officer posed as a prostitute on East Eighth and East 10th streets. Between 10:30 p.m. and 4 a.m. Friday, eight men were arrested for allegedly soliciting prostitution from the woman they did not know was a police officer. "We're going to continue to aggressively pursue these kinds of activities," said Lt. Danny Miles, department spokesman. "The chief and this department are committed to this."
The department's undercover methods to catch alleged prostitution buyers have been in the public eye lately after the July arrest of Ryle High School football coach David Eckstein.
The charge against him was withdrawn because prosecutors decided his suspension from teaching and coaching had already punished him more than most people arrested for the same thing.
But police became frustrated at how the deal for Mr. Eckstein was characterized by some as a mistake by the undercover officer. Police stand by her actions during the arrest. Mr. Eckstein has agreed to stop making disparaging remarks about the police department.
