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ST. GEORGE — Seven men were arrested over the weekend in a prostitution sting operation conducted by the St. George Police Department, according to documents filed in 5th District Court in Washington County.
Travis Coleman, Jay Farnsworth, Franklin Field, Donald Railsback, Mark Rawle, Lance Mackelprang and Larin Shenah all were arrested between Friday and Saturday, according to jail reports.
They were all booked into the Washington County Jail for investigation of patronizing a prostitute, a class A misdemeanor, according to jail records.
Investigators with the St. George Police Department posted ads online offering a female escort in the St. George area, according to the jail reports. Coleman, Farnsworth, Field, Railback, Mackelprang and Shenah allegedly contacted the “escort” and agreed to pay a specific amount of money for a particular sex act.
Details about Rawle’s arrest were not available Sunday.
The men were told to meet the escort at a specific hotel and room number. They then met with a woman in the room that was acting as a decoy. They were all arrested after agreeing to pay money to the woman.
Later, in interviews with investigators, the men admitted to agreeing to pay for a sex act, according to the jail reports. The reports do not include further details about the amounts of money or the sex acts allegedly agreed upon.
