Alleged prostitution reported to police

SIKESTON -- Police investigated a report of alleged prostitution early Friday in Sikeston.

About 12:30 a.m., officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety responded to a complaint of prostitution on the parking lot of a business located in the 1400 block of South Main Street, according to DPS incident reports.

The complainant said a truck in the back parking lot had its lights flashing at a female who was walking through the lot, and the woman got into the truck, according to DPS reports.

While officers were on the scene, the woman reportedly exited the truck the complainant watched her get into. She identified herself, and when officers asked the woman what she was doing, she said she drove from Cape Girardeau to the truck stop to take the man she had just visited a plate of food, reports said.

The woman identified the man as "Ryan" and told officers she had known him for several years. She was checked through the Missouri Department of Revenue but was not on file. The woman had a license through Illinois and was detained while officers determined her identity.

The woman was reportedly holding something in her left hand, and when she was told let go, the officer could see it was money -- $100. She was advised of her constitutional rights and was asked straight forward whether or not she was promoting (soliciting).

Officers talked to the truck driver, who reportedly was not named Ryan. The man advised officers that he had paid the woman for a back rub. When asked if he had paid her for sexual favors, the man said he had only paid her for a back rub and companionship, according to reports.

Further information about the incident was unavailable.

For this story and more, see the weekend edition of the Standard Democrat.