6 arrested in Dover prostitution sting

DOVER, Del. –  A prostitution sting led to 6 arrests at a Dover hotel.

Master Cpl. Ryan Schmid with the Dover police Department said the operation was aimed at improving quality of life in the city.

“We’re always going to be conducting operations like this, and we’re not going to stop until we’ve addressed the quality-of-life issues,” said Cpl. Schmid.

The sting, which only lasted a matter of hours, resulted in 6 men, including Dover City council member, William Hare, being charged with a misdemeanor offense.

Cpl. Schmid told WMDT citizen complaints helped fuel the operation.

“One of the big issues was prostitution in and around downtown, and then throughout the city of Dover,” said Cpl. Schmid. “This operation that we just did is, I believe, the third operation we’ve done, targeting prostitution.”

The mayor’s office had no comment on the council member’s arrest. WMDT also contacted Hare directly and did not receive a response.

Corporal Schmid said regardless of status, each individual involved in patronizing a prostitute will be held accountable.

“Here at the agency, it doesn’t matter who you are. Whether you’re a city official, state official, police officer, even, we’re going to make sure that we are fair and equitable with how we apply the law,” said Cpl. Schmid. “If we’re doing an operation like this, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to be treated the same as anybody else.”

He added Dover Police will continue to conduct these operations as long as necessary and offer support to victims of sex trafficking.

“Human trafficking is huge and it’s really big in Delaware and around the country,” said Cpl. Schmid. “The main thing we’re trying to do is combat that, and if there’s someone that’s engaging in prostitution, try to get them help.”