Bellevue Police arrest 12 men in prostitution sting

Bellevue Police Department detectives arrested 12 men as part of an undercover prostitution sting. This was a two-day sting and the men were arrested at a hotel in the city. Police said that overall, 66 men responded to a Bellevue vice detective's fake ad on a known prostitution website. A thirteenth man would have been arrested if that person didn't get lost finding the hotel, Bellevue police said. Of the 12 that were arrested, one man was from Bellevue, many were from neighboring cities and one man from Georgia responded to the ad. According to Bellevue Police, prostitution is appealing because the city is affluent, there are many hotels, and it's close proximity to the freeway. Bellevue Police's message is to make it not appealing at all. "Our goal is to make prostitution not appealing in the city of Bellevue," said Bellevue Police Capt. Dave Sanabria. "We want people who are looking to establish or are trying to make these dates, to stop and think for a moment that the other person at the end of the line, the end of the ad, or the end of that cell phone, that text, could be a detective waiting for them to take them into custody."