A prostitution ring right in the middle of suburbia included luxe apartments hiding a lascivious enterprise, police say.
In all, five people are suspected of being involved in the organized online prostitution ring.
Last week, San Jose police arrested two Alameda County residents, Juday Angel Godoy, 33, and Daniel Silva, 28. Santa Clara residents Jimmy Liu, Sam Ran Jeong, both 38, and Chanh Cong Doan, 39, were also arrested. All were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of pimping and pandering. The arrests come after a 10-month investigation.
Police said 16 additional people were also booked into county jail for other prostitution-related charges.
Investigators say members of the ring successfully blended into the community to the point where neighbors had no idea what was happening right next door.
The group started its operation on Craigslist and eventually moved it to the adult service Web site Myredbook.com, police say.
"It does present a challenge for us as law enforcement." San Jose police office Jose Garcia said. "So many people using the Internet. It's hard to track everyone."
Here's how it worked: "pimps" would rent high-end apartments as their base of operations.
Neighbors of one such place on the Alameda in San Jose say they had no idea what was happening next door to them.
"It's very surprising. There are kids that live here are community oriented. It's very shocking," Raquel Schaefer said.
Another neighbor said word of the bust "tripped her out" because they suspects were very quiet people.
The Santa Clara Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff's Office, San Mateo Police Department, Mountain View Police Department, Dublin Police Department, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, Department of Justice and California Department of Corrections assisted in the service of search warrants throughout the Bay Area.
Anyone with any information on this case is asked to call the Police Department's vice unit at 408-277-4322. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
