Police: Ohio State adviser ran prostitute raffle

Tools

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Dec 1, 2008 at 4:23 PM EST

Story Updated: Dec 1, 2008 at 4:23 PM EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A college adviser and a real estate agent joined together to hold a raffle that offered an evening with a prostitute who is also a child sex-abuse caseworker, police said.

The operation was organized through the Web site Craigslist.com, where several hundred customers posted comments about prostitutes they had hired.

Christopher S. Johnson, 33, an academic adviser at Ohio State University's School of Nursing, organized the chat board and the raffle, police said.

Rusty Blades, a 42-year-old real estate agent, held an invitation-only party in October for the men and a group of prostitutes at one of his houses, police said. The men bought $10 raffle tickets for a chance to spend time with one of the prostitutes.

Both Johnson and Blades were charged with promoting prostitution. A judge set bail Saturday at $50,000 for Blades and $25,000 for Johnson.

A message seeking comment was left Monday with Blades' attorney Richard Wetzel. A woman who answered the phone at Johnson's home Monday said he was not available.

The prostitute was 31-year-old Vanise Dunn, an employee at Franklin County Children Services since 2000, said Columbus Police Vice Detective Jeffrey Ackley.

Her attorney, Scott Kossoudji, said he could not comment because he did not know enough about the case yet.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 41.5

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.