A Manassas woman has been charged after allegedly using an expensive Airbnb in Old Town for prostitution.
The 35-year-old woman was identified after police searched the phone of a man who died in his car in the 500 block of N. West Street on Saturday, July 5. She was charged with keeping a bawdy place after police found text messages on the man’s phone and launched an investigation, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The Alexandria Police Department notified the public on July 5 that there was a significant police presence in the 500 block of N. West Street due to the death investigation, and that there “was no active threat.” On July 6 (Sunday), APD issued a notification that it was also conducting a search warrant in the 400 block of N. West Street, due to an unspecified ongoing investigation.
The dead man’s identity has not been released. In his phone, police found WhatsApp messages from Friday, July 4, with a woman named Rosa Marie. In one video message, the woman, identified as Rosa Marie, asks in Spanish whether the man worked for law enforcement. The man confirmed he wasn’t a police officer, and further messages showed that he was on his way to her location, according to the search warrant affidavit. Once there, he called three separate phone numbers associated with the woman known as Rosa Marie, according to the search warrant affidavit.
Rosa Marie is one of several aliases allegedly used by the suspect. Police looked up the phone number in an open-source database and found it listed for “sex worker advertisements,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
In one escort site that is still active, the woman is listed as Gabriela, a 35-year-old erotic masseuse who has worked in Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Roanoke. The listing includes nude videos and images, and says that a verification video call is mandatory with clients, and that she is “dedicated to providing you with moments of pleasure, relaxation, and deep connection.”
An undercover APD officer then texted the suspect, who allegedly said in text messages that she would engage in sex acts with a condom between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. She also messaged that she accepted cash-only payments of $120 for 15 minutes, $160 for 30 minutes, and $300 for an hour, according to the search warrant affidavit.
The woman was later observed by police leaving and returning to a house in the 400 block of N. West Street. Police found that the house is a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom Airbnb with a three-night stay minimum price of $3,652.
The Airbnb has five stars, 17 stellar reviews from former clients, and features a back deck, a large living room and kitchen, and bedrooms with queen-size beds.
Keeping a bawdy place is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
