An Effingham County man was one of 12 people jailed after a two-day sting where Bulloch County law enforcement used the Internet to nab people soliciting prostitutes.

Statesboro-Bulloch Crime Suppression Team investigators conducted a reverse prostitution sting with the cooperation of a local motel, leading to the arrest of 11 men and a woman, according to Bulloch County Sheriff Lynn Anderson.

The woman, Dekara Keanna Lee, 23, Palm Beach, Fla., was charged with prostitution and keeping a place of prostitution after officers, during the investigation, learned of her soliciting sexual encounters at a separate hotel from which the sting was held, Anderson said.

“As prostitution is now facilitated in many cases on the Internet, investigators used a classified Internet advertising website to arrange transactions,” he said.

The 11 men who responded to the ads and went to the specified motel to complete the sexual transactions were then arrested. Among those arrested was John Eric Peavy, 48, of Shearouse Road in Guyton. He was charged with pandering.

One man, Whitman Levon Scott, 30, Oak Hill Mobile Home Park, was charged with pandering and sexual battery, with the latter charge stemming from his having groped an undercover female officer. The other men were all charged with pandering.

The CST began the investigation after receiving complaints from the public and information from other law enforcement agencies, Anderson said.

“Prostitution brings with it other issues, such as drug activity, robberies, and the use of underage and sex trafficked women,” he said. “The reverse stings make the crime more dangerous for ‘johns’ to participate in and hopefully deter them from doing so.”

All were taken to the Bulloch County Jail, where they either posted bond or await court hearings, he said.

— Statesboro Herald