AUGUSTA, Maine — Two men charged in a September prostitution sting pled guilty to engaging a prostitute at the Capital Judicial Center on Thursday, according to Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
Rayfield Dobbins II, 42, of Augusta and Jason Vega, 27, of Corinna were both ordered to pay a fine of $800, Maloney said on Friday.
In addition, Vega was hit with a fine of $400 on a Class D misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, Maloney said.
Maloney argued that the men spend 48 hours in jail, but Justice Donald Alexander instead imposed a fine.
Earlier this week, Alexander ordered five other men charged in the sting to pay fines after they pled guilty.
“The reason these cases are important is because engaging a prostitute is what allows human trafficking to occur,” Maloney said.
Approximately 21 men were charged in September 2015 in a joint sting conducted by Waterville and Augusta police and the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office.
Engaging a prostitute is a Class E misdemeanor punishable by up to six months behind bars and a fine of $1,000.
