Charges dismissed against 4 men arrested in Oxford prostitution sting

Charges against four men arrested in a September prostitution sting in Oxford were dismissed Wednesday for lack of evidence.

Ten women charged in the undercover operation, , all charged with misdemeanor soliciting prostitution, will have to pay hundreds of dollars in court fines and fees, and serve out probation sentences.

Oxford police made those arrests at an Oxford motel on Sept. 25^th following several weeks of investigation. The operation was jointly conducted with the Calhoun County District Attorney's Office, Gadsden police, the Etowah County Drug Task Force and the FBI.

Police in the investigation targeted women who had posted advertisements on the website Backpage.com, which allows people to post for illegal services with sections for escorts and “adult jobs.”

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Weems said there was enough probable cause for police to have arrested the four men and charge them with promoting prostitution, but not enough to try them in court. Police believed the men were acting as pimps.

The men denied that assertion, and the women said nothing to implicate the four men in those crimes.