D.C. police arrest 54 men in downtown prostitution sting

District police have sent a message to the men who frequent prostitutes in downtown D.C.: Don’t do it, or you’ll be arrested. In two separate six-hour periods, District police arrested 54 men on prostitution solicitation-related charges. Inspector Brian Bray said he was “surprised” by the haul of “johns,” particularly because word typically gets out that police are cracking down. But the customers kept coming after the first night of enforcement on Thursday, and more arrests were made overnight Friday, he said.

“This was a very large operation in terms of the number of people arrested,” Bray said on Monday. “I was actually surprised myself.”