Sex sting nets more modestly priced call girls

Their hourly price might not have been as high as the New York City call girl for whose services a certain ex-governor dished out beaucoup dollars, but these mid-priced ladies apparently were making a decent living before undercover Philadelphia cops put them out of business.

Five women, who charged undercover police officers between $200 and $400 per hour for sex, were arrested in a Center City hotel during a prostitution sting yesterday, said department spokesperson Lt. Frank Vanore.

"We know what they charge in New York," Vanore said, "so this is no surprise."

One of the women, Tlene Dowling, 22, of Rockledge, Montgomery County, sparked the sting operation after, Vanore said, she and an accomplice robbed a man at knifepoint in a Center City hotel room on Feb. 29.

Dowling and four other women, who worked for different escort services, were solicited by officers of the vice enforcement unit.

Police called numbers listed in local ads to make dates and met the women in the hotel room.

The sting began about noon and lasted several hours, he said. By 5 p.m., cops had also arrested Karen Wood, 19, also of Rockledge, Megan Keough, 23, of Folsom, Delaware County; Shakia Davis, 21, of Hunting Park, and Theresa Atkins, 49, of Paoli. They were charged with prostitution. Dowling was also charged in the February robbery. With the women now locked up, police have set their eyes on their employers.

"We think these escort services aren't legitimate," Vanore said. "We believe they're being used as a disguise for prostitution."

The investigation is continuing. *