Prostitution Sting Forces Austin Peay Coach to Resign
Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN is going to have to look for a new baseball coach – school’s starting soon, and their current one, Gary McClure, is coach no more after soliciting a prostitute who turned out to be a police officer. You hear about this kind of thing from time to time, you see it on the show Cops, but it’s hard to believe it can hit so close to home.
Prostitution Sting = Total Success
When one pictures a prostitution sting operation, it’s easy to imagine the girl standing on the street corner by a motel: a guy approaches, says some stuff, follows her into a motel room, and the police crash down on top of him. Yeah, I’ve definitely seen that on TV a few times. But this particular situation is a little more “2015.” The prostitute-in-disguise made use of the internet to get in touch with McClure. Or rather, to seek people who were doing what he was doing, and he fell into the trap. What was the website you might ask? Backpage.com. Don’t even bother checking it out.
When providing the details of the arrest, Officer Natalie Hall makes it clear that the goal of the Clarksville police wasn’t just to target people looking for hookers: “We’ve found in Clarksville that other things were happening, not just prostitution, but other things related to that where we had robberies, assaults…” Well, doesn’t seem like they found any criminals specializing in those fields, but they sure did land a big catch with ex-coach McClure.
What’s The Damage?
Although the charges were not super hefty (McClure was released from Montgomery Count Jail on a $250 bond), the inevitable fallout was, obviously, not so great. “[This situation] conflicts with the core values of our university and does not represent the values of our outstanding fault and staff,” Austin Peay President Alisa White stated in response to the event, “therefore, we have accepted Mr. McClure’s resignation.”
Tennessee and Prostitute Patronization
Obviously, Tennessee state law maintains that prostitution and soliciting prostitutes is illegal. The charges are subjective to the situation, such as “where did it happen” and if the prostitute “knew they had HIV.” It’s either a misdemeanor or a felony, and jail time ranges from 11 months to 15 years. Based on McClure’s charges and the fact that he’s not in prison right now, it’s probable that his crime fell under the category of “misdemeanor.”
Nashville Criminal Attorneys
At Turner Law Offices, P.C., our team of attorneys has years of experience working with clients in a wide variety of criminal cases, and these certainly include those related to prostitution – both patronizing, promoting, and prostitution itself. We know the most efficient routes towards proving innocence under these circumstances, and any others that qualify as criminal offenses. Call today, or go online to set up your Free Initial Consultation, and meet with one of our skilled lawyers who is ready and waiting to get you on track towards the justice you deserve.
