Crime of the week, from Elgin in suburban Chicagoland:
A prostitute and her client were arrested Thursday morning, shortly after police caught them in the middle of a $12 sexual encounter in a car parked at Hammond Avenue and South Liberty Street, court records show. Tina M. Vasquez, 41, a homeless woman living in Elgin, was charged with felony prostitution. She was unable to post 10 percent of her $5,000 bond and was taken to the Kane County jail, police said. Carl L. Phillips, 48, of the 200 block of Locust Street, was charged with soliciting for a prostitute and was released on $100 bond.
As one of the commenters observes, I don't think I want to know what $12 gets you. The report says they were caught in the driver's seat -- would $15 have earned a trip to the back seat? But since this was only "a $12 sexual encounter," why is it felony prostitution? She was convicted of the crime once before, but back in 2004. And, since this was a voluntary exchange, why is her bond $5,000 for selling what he wanted to buy and his only $100 for buying what she was willing to sell? Equal-rights alert!
