Three charged in prostitution raid at NE Bend motel
Acting on an anonymous tip, police raided a northeast Bend motel Monday, arrested a New York woman on prostitution charges and cited two Bend men for commercial sexual solicitation, the second such human trafficking charges in the city in less than two weeks.
Patrol officers got an anonymous tip on Monday regarding suspected human trafficking in a room at the Bend Value Inn at 2346 Northeast Division Street, said police Lt. Clint Burleigh. The tip “mentioned the victim was possibly a younger female,” Burleigh said in a news release.
Officers quickly acted on the tip, leading them to contact two men who had made brief visits to the room, Burleigh said.
Investigators found the Mark Allen Miller, 47, and Donald Allen Vanderford, 35, both of Bend, had committed the crime of commercial sexual solicitation, Burleigh said. Both were issued citations and released.
Officers served a search warrant on the motel and found a 43-year-old New York women in the room. During the raid, Burleigh said they also “found a substantial amount of currency, as well as evidence tying to the female to ongoing prostitution in the local area, and other areas around Oregon.”
The woman, whose name wasn’t released, was lodged at the Deschutes County Jail on three counts of prostitution.
“The Bend Police Development continues to work towards ending human trafficking within our community,” Burleigh wrote in a news release. “We understand how devastating human trafficking is in society, especially in Central Oregon.”
On Aug. 18, four people were arrested or cited in a prostitution sting operation targeting several unnamed Bend hotels. Police said one 19-year-old woman had been a victim of sex trafficking since she was 13.
