Jul 25, 2013 3 min read

A Bulger woman was arrested Wednesday on a warrant charging her with prostitution after she allegedly offered to perform a sex act on an undercover task force detective in exchange for money earlier this month.

Rebecca Ellen Plaisted, 44, of 502 Elder St., is charged by a detective with the Washington County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force with prostitution and possession of a crack pipe.

A detective working undercover in an unmarked vehicle July 2 said he spotted Plaisted standing on the sidewalk at West Chestnut and North Franklin streets. He said that as he drove past her, she appeared to be waving her arms in an attempt to attract his attention.

The detective left the area and notified a Washington police officer to determine if she was working as a prostitute. The detective noted in court documents that the area had been a source of prostitution-related complaints.

About 9 p.m., the detective said he saw the woman standing in the 10 block of West Walnut. He drove by and parked about 150 feet from where she was standing. Plaisted reportedly walked down the street and, without any conversation, got into the passenger seat of his car.

The detective said he asked Plaisted if she was working and told her that he had $50. She reportedly asked if he had a place to go. He went to one spot, but she wanted to go to another. They returned to the first spot when the second proved to have much traffic in the area.

Plaisted reportedly exposed a breast to the detective and offered to perform oral sex for $50. He said that as she tried to pull down the zipper of his pants, he told her to stop. Plaisted was taken into custody by a city police officer.

When she was taken to the city police station, a suspected crack pipe was found hidden in her bra, police said.

Washington police Chief Chris Luppino said his department is continuing to work with the task force to address the prostitution problem. A city police detective is assigned to work full time with the task force.

This is not Plaisted’s first arrest for prostitution. Twice in 2007, she was arrested on prostitution charges by Pittsburgh police. She pleaded guilty and was placed on probation for a year.

Plaisted was again placed on a year’s probation in Washington County Court stemming from her Oct. 8, 2010, arrest by a task force detective on a prostitution charge in Washington.

Plaisted was arraigned before District Judge Robert Redlinger on the latest charges and placed in Washington County jail on a $2,500 percentage bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 5.