Woman arrested at Glendale hotel in prostitution sting

A 21-year-old Elk Grove woman was arrested this week on suspicion of soliciting sex in exchange for cash to an undercover Glendale detective during a sting at a local hotel, police said.

Glendale detectives were investigating possible prostitution advertisements on Backpage.com Monday night when they contacted Mallory Osta, who had listed her phone number in an ad, according to police.

Osta, who police said went by the name Giana, allegedly told detectives she had just got off work and was available to hang out.

After an undercover detective indicated he would only be available to hang out for 30 minutes, she told him it would cost $140, police said.

The undercover detective met with Osta about 9:13 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in the 800 block of North Central Avenue.

She allegedly opened the hotel door wearing a negligee and again repeated her price, police said.

Osta later asked the detective to undress himself as she stated her terms for the evening, police said. At that point, she agreed to engage in sex acts with the detective for $140, police said.

As she moved toward the detective, he gave a verbal signal to an arrest team, which entered the room and took her into custody on suspicion of prostitution, police said. Soon after being booked at the police jail, she was released and issued a citation.

Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said escorts will often travel to local hotels to engage in illegal sex acts because Las Vegas is “a tough market” to earn money in.
-- Veronica Rocha, veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Follow on Google+ and on Twitter: @VeronicaRochaLA.

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