Feb. 21--A Chicago man was ordered held on bond Friday after he was charged with promoting prostitution on the city's Southwest Side, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
Troy Gardner, 24, was ordered held on $55,000 bond by a Cook County judge Friday after authorities said he had been pushing prostitution through Backpage.com, a website that posts classified ads and is frequently associated with postings for prostitution.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's vice unit was conducting an undercover sting at a hotel on the Southwest Side in response to a Backpage advertisement. Vice unit officers found a woman and learned Gardner had rented the hotel room for the purpose of prostitution, according to a statement from the sheriff's office.
Gardner stood to make money from prostituting the woman, whom he met through Backpage, according to the statement.
The woman was offered services through the sheriff's Women's Justice Program, and Gardner was arrested Wednesday. He was charged with promoting prostitution, a Class 4 felony. His next court date is scheduled for Tuesday.
Cook County sheriff's officials said they have made 47 arrests for involuntary servitude, human trafficking or promoting prostitution since 2007. Officials said most of those arrests stemmed from investigations that began with prostitution ads on either Backpage or Craigslist.
