A 13-year veteran of the Houston police department was arrested on September 21st. Jermaine Tyree Owens offered money to an undercover officer for sexual intercourse.
Owens, who offered $200 for both oral sex and intercourse will be charged with soliciting prostitution. Owens was arrested and released on a $500 bond. He is expected to show up for his first court appearance on September 29th. In the meantime he is suspended from duty, but collecting full pay pending an investigation.
One has to question what an investigation entails when Owens engaged in an illegal activity right in front of the vice unit. Additionally bizarre is the fact that Owens was busted by his own police department.
One would assume that Owens might at least leave the community he serves to engage in illegal activities. Additionally, one would expect the 13-year veteran to recognize a vice sting, and to be familiar with actual sex workers.
While I don’t believe that asking for money for something that two consenting adults do is wrong, the behavior is still disappointing. The hypocrisy is what makes it wrong.
One has to wonder, has Owens ever arrested anyone for prostitution? What were the repercussions on that person’s life?
Just last year, Houston Police Department set up a fake “modeling studio” that they used to lure men into purchasing sex. Sixty-four men were arrested and their faces were plastered online.
The Houston Police Department claimed to have been fighting human trafficking where women and children are forced or coerced to sell sex. However, none of the arrests made in this case had any connection to human trafficking.
