Prostitute patrons can’t hide their faces anymore

Gone are the days of the nameless, faceless “john.” Men who buy sex are now likely to end up with their faces splashed across the Internet or the morning newspaper.

A Maine tourist town shaken up by authorities’ promises to reveal the identities of dozens of clients of a fitness instructor accused of prostitution is just the latest place to enlist public shaming as a preventive measure.

Fresno, Calif., sponsors a website called “Operation Reveal” that features mug shots of suspected johns, while Oklahoma City has the vigilante-style “JohnTV.” In Arlington, Texas, a highway billboard declares “This could be you” under the picture of four suspects.

In Maine, the small-town scandal has literally put Kennebunk on the map – it’s now part of a database tracking more than 870 municipalities that have launched initiatives targeting men who hire prostitutes.

Interviews and surveys of officers at 200 police departments nationwide since 2008 found most consider targeting customers the best way to curb prostitution, because they fear publicity about the charges more than fines or even jail time. It continues a long-developing trend away from prosecuting the “supply” side – the prostitutes themselves – and targeting the demand.

“What they usually ask is, ‘Is my wife going to find out? Is my boss going to find out? Is my name going to be in the paper?’” said Michael Shively, who conducted the study funded by the National Institute of Justice.

In the case that has embroiled the coastal town of Kennebunk, 29-year-old Alexis Wright is accused of operating a prostitution business out of her Zumba studio, secretly videotaping her encounters and keeping meticulous records of her clients.

Police plan to release more than 100 names little by little over the next several weeks. The warning has set off a flurry of rumors among residents who say they’ve heard the list might include lawyers, doctors, law enforcement officials and a television personality.

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