LIHU‘E — Two men from Kaua‘i and a Big Island man are awaiting their first court appearances on charges of prostitution.
Seth Garrison Kawai Macomber, 24, of Lihu‘e, Jimit H. Mehta, 42, of Princeville, and Justin D. Rabang, 25, of Ke‘eau on the Big Island, were each arrested on suspicion of a single count of prostitution on March 25. Mehta and Rabang are out on bail, while Macomber remains in custody, according to court records and prosecutors.
According to county Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar, a California woman placed an ad on Craigslist — a classifieds Web site — saying she was coming to Kaua‘i and offering services, drawing responses from the three men.
Kaua‘i Police Department officers learned of the woman’s plans, contacted her, and arranged for a sting operation, Kollar said.
Money exchanged hands, clothes were taken off, and the men were arrested, Kollar said. Each of the men was charged with prostitution, a petty misdemeanor, and have court dates set later this month .
“We just want to discourage this kind of activity,” Kollar said.
The woman, 27-year-old Teresa Tran of Santa Clara, Calif., was arrested on two counts of third-degree promotion of prostitution at 5:18 p.m., but released pending further investigation, according to KPD’s daily arrest report the day in question.
The woman cooperated with police and isn’t currently facing any charges, and had $4,100 in cash returned to her after her arrest and release, Kollar said.
That money does not include the money offered for her services by the three Kaua‘i suspects, which is in evidence, he said. He said he doesn’t believe the woman saw other clients while she was on Kaua‘i.
Mehta, who was arrested at 6:30 p.m., did not want to comment when reached by telephone Monday.Rabang, arrested 7:16 p.m., was sentenced to five years in jail for robbery on the Big Island in 2002. He did not respond to a message left on his cell phone.
Macomber, arrested at 7:40 p.m., is incarcerated and therefore unavailable for comment.
“We don’t want that kind of activity to happen here,” said Prosecuting Attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who added she couldn’t recall another prostitution case on the island since a former Kaua‘i resident established an escort service when Maryanne Kusaka was mayor. “We clearly want to protect this island against this kind of activity.”
According to the arrest warrants, the three men are accused of engaging in, or agreeing or offering to engage in sexual conduct with another person for a fee, thereby committing the offense of prostitution.
Macomber’s court date for arraignment and plea is June 10. Rabang is scheduled to appear on June 17, and Mehta is scheduled to appear June 24.
Though she cooperated, the woman should receive the biggest penalty since she is the one that initiated the encounter with the men. Did I read this right, she was released and given back $4200 cash? How does that discourage this type of activity?