Former UA Vice President for Student Life Myron Pope’s solicitation charge was dismissed Monday after Pope paid a $100 fine and completed a Johns Education and Awareness Program.

The program teaches participants the consequences and realities of prostitution, both to reform prostitutes’ clients and decrease prostitution by reducing potential clientele. 

The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force arrested Pope and 14 other men in February after a two-day undercover investigation. Pope responded to an ad placed by an undercover officer, and was arrested after arriving at the location. 

“If buyers were not seeking commercial sexual services, sex trafficking would no longer be profitable,” task force commander Capt. Phil Simpson said in a statement after the arrest. “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 resigned from the University soon after the arrest and pleaded guilty on March 2, but a court ruling said that if Pope completed the program and paid the fine his record would be left clean and his plea would be set aside.