Albuquerque Police/PexelsA man has been arrested after offering an undercover police officer a Chili’s hamburger in exchange for sex.
Dominic Calderon, 36, was arrested during an undercover ‘street operation’ organised by the Albuquerque Police Department’s Vice Unit on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 28.
Calderon – a registered sex offender who was on probation at the time – approached the officer, who was posing as a sex worker, on his bicycle and asked how much she would charge for a sexual encounter.
Hear more about the arrest here:
Calderon was reportedly discussing terms and a price with the undercover officer when he revealed he wouldn’t be able to pay her until the following Friday, when he received his wage from work.
He went on to ask for the woman’s phone number so he could get in touch when he had been paid.
The officer noticed Calderon was holding a takeaway food box from the restaurant Chili’s and asked him what was inside. He told her it was a hamburger, and the officer suggested he could use the food as her payment, instead of cash.
PixabayAccording to court documents obtained by The Smoking Gun, Calderon agreed to the terms and asked the officer to ‘meet him at his place’. At that point the officer gave the ‘predetermined arrest signal’ and Calderon was taken in by police.
Calderon was charged with patronising a sex worker, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine. The probation office confirmed Calderon’s status as a sex offender on probation, after which his probation was revoked and upgraded to a felony warrant.
The Chili’s burger was seized by police and placed into evidence.
The state of New Mexico prohibits sex work, which is defined by FindLaw as engaging or offering to engage in a sexual act for pay.
Posted by Albuquerque Police Department on Thursday, January 30, 2020
It is also illegal to patronise a sex worker by knowingly hiring or offering to hire a sex worker or a person believed to be a sex worker, as well as to promote sex work.
A second or subsequent offence of sex work or solicitation is a punishable by up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.
Calderon was one of 11 arrests made in relation to sex work on January 28 along Central Avenue. The 36-year-old is scheduled to appear in Metropolitan Court on February 25.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.