The discovery of a man dead in his car has led to the arrest of a woman for allegedly operating a “pop-up brothel” at an Airbnb in Old Town Alexandria.
Short term rental hosts across the U.S. and overseas have been dealing with an increase in this problem in recent years. It comes as hotels are increasingly cracking down on prostitution and sex trafficking through employee training, new technologies and policy changes.
Neighbors say the 500 block of North West Street in Old Town Alexandria was filled with police cars July 5 — the day a man was discovered dead in his car.
A detective reviewed the man’s last texts and found one dated July 4th from “Rosa Maria,” part of which read “I want to please you and get you out of your routine, available from 8AM to 10PM,” according to court documents.
Rosa Maria is an alias, and she has not been located, according to police.
It was followed by “15 min 120,” which the detective said is common phrasing for sex workers to price out their time: 15 minutes on an agreed upon act for $120.
The court documents say the map application on the dead man’s phone was still active and displayed an address about a block away.
Rosa Maria’s cell number led a detective to sex worker advertisements and her car registration information, indicating she lived in another part of Virginia.
Then, according to court documents, a detective observed her leaving the home mapped on the dead man’s phone and learned it was an Airbnb rental.
That information was laid out in the search warrant that led to Rosa Maria’s arrest for the crime of “Running a Bawdy House” according to Alexandria Police.
In a statement, Airbnb said, “The reported criminal activity has no place on Airbnb and the guest who booked this listing has been removed from the platform.”
It goes on to say, “Issues like this are rare, and we stand ready to support the Alexandria Police Department with their investigation.”
The cause of death of the man found in his car has not been made public. Police say the case is under active investigation.
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