The police in the Czech Republic have little legal power to prosecute Germans who engage in “sex tourism,” so two weeks ago, they began resorting to public shaming online, ARD’s news show Tagesschau reported.
In broken German, the site introduces a photo gallery of “cars in which prostitutes are entering to perform sexual acts.” Faces are blurred, but license plate numbers are clear.
Chomutov deputy mayor Jan Řehák told the show that the website is just the first step in fighting sex tourism in his town, which lies just a few kilometres from the Czech border with the eastern German state of Saxony. The hamlet wants to rid itself of its sinful reputation, he added.
“We may also invite the johns who let prostitutes into their cars to an administrative hearing with the woman,” he said. “There they will have to give an explanation for what happened in the car.”
Dubi, another Czech town with the same problem, managed to scare German johns away last year with the help of German police, who sent photos to the address under which auto license plates were registered. Chomutov now plans to do the same, Tagesschau reported.