Members of the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team (UDEST) conducted a prostitution sting in Ocala last week that netted five arrests – four women and a boyfriend who brought his pregnant girlfriend to the hotel where the operation took place.
The first arrest came at 5:50 p.m. when the strike team took 28-year-old Chrisanthi L. Dafopoulos into custody. An undercover agent previously had made contact with her through phone/email communications and had agreed to meet at an unnamed hotel on SW College Road. That agent had arranged to pay Dafopoulos, who is homeless, $120 for sexual intercourse and their conversation was electronically monitored as it occurred, a UDEST report states.
A short time later, Dafopoulos’ boyfriend, 20-year-old Israel Asencio, was taken into custody. He admitted to bringing the pregnant Dafopoulos to the hotel “so she could engage in sexual acts in exchange for money,” the report says.
Asencio also told agents that he knew Dafopoulos was pregnant with his child and that she was engaging in prostitution, the report says, adding that she admitted to using Asencio’s phone to access websites she uses to advertise and set up “prostitution deals,” the report adds.
Both Dafopoulos and Asencio, who also is homeless, were transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with prostitution (first offense) and he was charged with prostitution (principle, first offense). They each are being held on $1,000 bond, with court appearances scheduled for Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.
Neither Dafopoulos or Asencio are strangers to the Marion County legal system. She has been in the jail four times since May 2018, while he has been arrested and housed at the facility six times since November 2016, records show.
The next arrest came at 6:50 p.m. when 24-year-old Catherena H. Neasman was taken into custody. An undercover agent had communicated with her in the past and the two allegedly had agreed upon her providing oral sex for $180, the report says.
After arriving at the hotel, Newman told the undercover agent that she came there to “chill with this guy.” She claimed that she had text messages showing that he “hit her up.” But when agents looked at the messages, they saw correspondence talking about $200 an hour and oral sex, the report says.
Neasman, who lives at 1280 NW 65th Pl. in Ocala, was transported to the Marion County Jail and charged with prostitution (first offense). She was released Friday at 3:06 a.m. on $500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.
The fourth arrest of the night came at 7:44 p.m. when 27-year-old Holly M. Hunter was taken into custody. She and the undercover agent allegedly had agreed to a price of $200 for sexual intercourse in previous communications, the report says.
Hunter was booked into the Marion County Jail a short time later and charged with prostitution (first offense). She was released Thursday morning on $1,000 bond.
Hunter, who lives at 3611 SW 34th St. # 55 in the Ridgemar Commons Apartments in Gainesville, has been held in the Marion County Jail four times since May 2017. As of Sunday night, no court date had been set for her appearance on the prostitution charge.
The final arrest of the night came at 10:43 p.m. when 45-year-old Dawn M. Bodine was placed in handcuffs. Like the others, she allegedly had communicated with the undercover agent in advance of the meeting, with her agreement being oral sex and intercourse for $150, the report says.
Bodine, whose address wasn’t listed on the arrest report, was booked into the Marion County Jail about a half hour later and charged with prostitution (first offense). She was released Saturday at 1:49 a.m. on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. to answer to the charge.
UDEST is an initiative of the North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. It is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement from the Ocala Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security. The strike team conducted a similar operation in Ocala earlier this month that also netted six arrests.
