PORTLAND — Police charged four men Sunday with engaging a prostitute in the city’s Parkside neighborhood.

The men were arrested Sunday night after each offered an undercover police officer money for sex, city officials say. Three of the men were arrested in a 20-minute period within a two-block radius of Weymouth Street.

Robert S. Flagg, 61, of Westbrook was arrested at Grant and Weymouth streets at 11 p.m. Ten minutes later, Jose Otilio Menjiva, 29, of Portland was arrested at Park Avenue and Weymouth Street. Rumen Shopov, 55, of Portland was arrested at 11:20 p.m. at Congress and Weymouth streets.

Christopher C. Pierce, 32, of Naples was arrested at 12:25 a.m. on Deering Place.

Nicole Clegg, spokeswoman for the city, said police continue to combat prostitution in Parkside in response to the neighborhood association’s request for “stepped-up enforcement due to the negative impact of prostitution on their community.”

“They have said that women who live in the neighborhood are followed and propositioned by men seeking sex,” Clegg said in a news release. “The problem has resulted in a negative impact on the quality of life and increased fear throughout this densely populated and diverse community.”

Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:

ggraham@pressherald.com


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