Three women arrested in prostitution stings

Three women are facing prostitution charges after being arrested by Buffalo Grove and Schaumburg police in separate undercover stings using the Internet.

A listing on Craigslist.com led to the prostitution arrest of a Loves Park, Ill., woman, Buffalo Grove police said Wednesday.

Elizabeth Ann Schmidtke, 23, of 6006 Browns Parkway, was charged with one count of prostitution after police said she agreed to sexual acts for money with an undercover officer.

Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak said an undercover officer contacted a phone number on Craigslist and agreed to meet Schmidtke at the Extended Stay America Hotel, 1525 Busch Parkway. Husak said Schmidtke offered to perform a sex act for $100.

Schmidtke was released on $600 bond with a Sept. 5 court date in Waukegan.

In Schaumburg, officers also used ads found on the Internet to make the busts.

Police said on Aug. 15 they found an advertisement on the Internet for an escort in the Schaumburg area.

After contacting the woman, police said they were told to go to a hotel on East American Lane and call again when there. Exact locations and hotel names were not provided. Once in the parking lot, police said, the woman told the undercover officer which hotel room to go to.

When inside the room, police said, the officer exchanged $180 for sexual acts. At that point, the woman was taken into custody. Lashanda D. Cox, 18, of 3241 N. First St., Milwaukee, was charged.

The next day, police again found an ad for an escort. This time, police were instructed to go to a hotel on East State Parkway. An officer gave $300 to the escort in exchange for sexual acts. The woman was taken into custody at that point.

Kari Deanna Knox, 33, of 3593 Sonoma Circle in Lake in the Hills, was charged with prostitution. Cox and Knox were both released on $1,000 bond and are scheduled to appear in court Aug. 31.