Three Charged with Prostitution in Moon Following Stings

Moon Police charged three women with prostitution after they agreed to meet with an undercover officer to have sex in exchange for money, according to court records. 

Police said 23-year-old Erica Johnson, of Nevada, and 33-year-old Taylor Sydney, of California, advertised escort services in the Moon and Coraopolis area on the classifieds website Backpage.com, according to a criminal complaint.

The women agreed to meet with a plainclothes officer on the evening of Oct. 29 at the Super 8 motel on University Boulevard. 

Police said in a complaint that they believed the women "would have engaged in a sex act for the money that would have been provided for the service." 

After the women's arrest, police seized an iPad, two cell phones, condoms and $3,693 from their hotel room, according to the complaint. 

Both Johnson and Sydney were charged with promoting prostitution, prostitution, criminal conspiracy and possessing instruments of crime. 

That same day, police also charged 27-year-old Shawna Pansegrau, of Minnesota, with prostitution after she arranged to meet with the officer at the LaQuinta Inn and Suites on University Boulevard, according to court records. 

Pansegrau advertised escort services in the airport-area via Backpage.com, according to the complaint. The woman agreed to meet with the officer for an hour-long appointment and perform a sex act in exchange for $200, police said. 

She was charged with promoting prostitution, prostitution and possessing instruments of crime. 

Police seized condoms, four cell phones, an Acer notepad and 79 gift cards from her hotel room. Pansegrau has been arrested multiple times in several states for acting as a prostitute, according to the complaint.