Merced prostitution sting nets 17 arrests of men responding to sex ads

Seventeen men were arrested during a two-week prostitution sting this month, Merced police said Monday.

Investigators monitored online prostitution advertisements from June 11 to June 25, according to a news release. Seventeen men reached out by either text message or phone call wanting to pay for sexual services.

Police identified the men as Alla Abuziadeh, Frederick Polanco, Michael Najera, Jared Soberanis-Trujillo, Jose Aviles, Rosendo Hernandez, Daniel Salas-Nunez, Pascual Rodriguez-Leon, Jesus Diaz, Angel Ochoa-Amezcua, Daranpop Suppatkul, Stephen Grossman, John Woolum, Arturo Padilla, Eric Whitley, Salvador Sanchez and Siddharth Pillai.

When the suspects arrived at the location, officers took them into custody. The men were arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution and cited and released due to the state’s current zero-bail policy for misdemeanor offenses, according to police.

Photos of each man were posted on the Merced Police Department Facebook page.

Merced police ask anyone with information regarding this alleged crime to contact Sgt. Solis at 209-385-4703 or by email at solisl@cityofmerced.org.