A University of Alabama vice president stepped down after he and 14 other men were busted in a prostitution sting, authorities said.
Myron Pope, 50, was arrested Thursday by members of the West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force on a misdemeanor charge of soliciting prostitution, Tuscaloosa police spokesperson Stephanie Taylor said in a statement to NBC News. At the time of his arrest, he was the university's vice president for student life, according to the school.
In a news release from the task force, which conducted the investigation Thursday and Friday nights, officials said Pope and the 14 other men “arranged to meet and pay for sex through an online app.”
They were arrested “after arriving at the agreed upon location and speaking with an undercover officer,” according to the release.
The names and ages of of the remaining suspects were not available Monday. However, all were charged with soliciting prostitution, according to the task force. Some face additional felony charges.
“If buyers were not seeking commercial sexual services, sex trafficking would no longer be profitable,” task force commander Capt. Phil Simpson said in the release. “We hope these operations targeting buyers show that we take this very seriously. Our goal is to prevent future exploitation of human trafficking victims who are forced or coerced into prostitution.”
Pope was released after posting $1,000 bond. He resigned Friday, university President Stuart R. Bell said in a statement to the campus.
Pope assumed his position as vice president for student life on May 4, 2020, and had been a walk-on member of the Crimson Tide’s 1992 national championship football team, according to an announcement of his appointment.
“We understand this news will be difficult for our community,” Bell said. “I will appoint an interim Vice President of Student Life and that person, along with the many professionals in the division, will remain available to all of us. Please continue to take care of yourselves and one another.”
Efforts to reach Pope on Monday were unsuccessful.
