Vice Squad Says Man Exposes Himself To Signal Invitation For Sex
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City's Vice Squad does almost a dozen decoy operations each month, usually addressing prostitution, an exchange of sex for money. But the sex they were trying to stop Monday was free, vice squad said.
It would have been perfectly legal, except for where it was happening, officers said.
An officer sat in a circle drive at Minor Park while car after car circled around, some backing in next to him.
vice squad said there's very little conversation involved in a sting.
The cue usually comes when someone walks into the woods, an undercover sergeant explained.
"They'll cut off into area like this and that's where they'll do their thing, right off to the side of the trail," he said.
vice squad don't let it go that far with a decoy operation, he said. They don't have to, because instead of asking for sex, the other person usually exposes himself to signal what he wants, the officer said.
"You have every right to be in a city park, but you can't go in there and expose yourself," he said.
A man was cited for indecent exposure during the sting on Monday night. And he freely agreed to talk to KCTV5's Betsy Webster about it.
"Just spur of the moment, I guess," said the man.
vice squad said some people claim officers are ganging up on gay people, but that's not why they are here.
"We have to do what we get complaints on, and this is a big complaint getter," said one officer.
The parking lot they were patrolling sits beside the tennis courts where the Center High School team practices.
And across the creek from where vice squad had their operation under way, fourth- and fifth-graders from Red Bridge Elementary School were collecting trash as a service project.
Although the focus of Monday's operation was not on sex for money, they got information on a man who propositioned one of the female officers who was there for backup. He allegedly offered her a hamburger in exchange for a sex act.
