Thirty years ago, it was more common to arrange sexual favors through a direct trade for narcotics, according to an inmate at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail. But Charlottesville’s finest don’t deal with direct trades; rather, undercover officers such as the Charlottesville Police Department’s Joe Brown need to ensure that suspected prostitutes agree to a specific act and amount of cash before making an arrest. In his experience, Brown says, the prices for sex fluctuate according to need. Charlottesville Police Sergeant Marc Brake concurs: “Most of the people are supporting a habit and are very desperate. This isn’t like going to Vegas.”
Though we scoured online classifieds and found 92 listings on Craigslist for men seeking women for “casual encounters” from January 22 to March 8 (including two that mention an unspecified amount of money), in the end, the most knowledgeable source on local prostitution was the police department.
Blowjob: $5-$30
Intercourse: “Roughly $50”
