A Dubuque man has been sentenced to two years of probation in relation to a prostitution charge. 40 year old Thomas Specht of Dubuque was given a deferred judgment in Iowa District Court of Dubuque County after pleading guilty to a charge of prostitution. If probation and payment obligations are successfully completed, the record of the case is expunged. Specht must also pay an $855 civil penalty and a $1,000 human trafficking surcharge. Police responded to Washington Street on February 21, 2020, after a robbery was reported. Specht told police that he agreed to meet a woman that he made contact with through an “adult services” website. Then, the two exchanged test messages in which they negotiated a price for sex. Specht said that when he arrived in the area, a woman and a man walked up to him, pushed him against his vehicle, grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and took $80 before fleeing into a nearby residence. A report says that 30 year old Sara Wells admitted to going to the area to meet up with Specht and taking him into a residence, then he gave her $80. She told police that she asked what he wanted for the money, and when he said sex, she refused and kicked him out of the residence and did not give him back his money.
