Manatee sheriff: Undercover deputy uses rubber penis to bust prostitute

MANATEE -- A 31-year-old Sarasota woman was arrested last week and charged with prostitution by an undercover Manatee County deputy armed with an unusual piece of police hardware.

A deputy assigned to the department’s Special Investigations Division saw Christina Hope Vavra walking in the 8200 block of North Tamiami Trail last Wednesday at around 11 p.m.

In his report, the deputy noted she was wearing denim pants and a green spaghetti-strap shirt.

He stopped to talk to Vavra in a nearby parking lot. She got into his undercover vehicle, and told him to drive north.

The deputy tried to get Vavra to commit to a price for oral sex, but she declined.

After stopping for cash, the deputy put three $20 bills in a cup holder and told her “that I needed some left over for groceries and to take what she needed.”

As they were leaving the lot, Vavra allegedly told the deputy to expose himself. According to his report: “I asked her if I could put a condom on first. I then exposed a flaccid rubber replica of a penis and placed a condom on it.”

Vavra is alleged to have performed oral sex, briefly, until the deputy saw a possum crossing the road.

“I saw an opossum cross the road and slammed on the brakes, causing the female to slide out of her seat and mildly into the dashboard,” the deputy wrote in his report. After the lawman parked in a nearby lot, Vavra is said to have furnished a price and was arrested. She remains in the Manatee County Jail subject to a $120 bond.

Bradenton defense attorney Charles M. Britt, III questions the use of the department’s investigative resources, especially just days after two people were killed and 22 more were wounded at the Club Elite mass shooting in Palmetto.

“These undercover guys should be following the (mass shooting) suspects,” Britt said. “When you hear the sheriff’s office complain about the budget crunch, and needing more money, and raising taxes, how does this as a taxpayer not infuriate you?”

Said Britt: “As a defense attorney, I’m used to seeing stuff like this, but as a citizen and a taxpayer--goodness gracious! Everyone in Palmetto ought to think really hard about who they vote for.”

This story was originally published September 20, 2011 at 12:10 AM with the headline "Manatee sheriff: Undercover deputy uses rubber penis to bust prostitute."