SEATTLE — There are hundreds of sex workers in the city of Seattle every day and as the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is looking at cracking down on the johns, they are also trying to help the victims who need it.

But some choose to be a sex worker.

“There are a lot more of us than you think,” said Caroline Mcloud, a sex worker. “I am happy doing this. This is what I’m choosing to do.”

Mcloud is 43 and a single mother of two. And, for the last eight years, she’s been a sex worker.

“It is illegal and I’m doing it and it’s all good, for me,” said Mcloud.

Almost a decade ago, Mcloud made a choice.

“So I made a leap of faith and it’s been fabulous,” said Mcloud.

Mcloud got tired of her long workweek at a startup tech job while her daughter spent the day in day care.

She said she needed to find a way to provide for her kids and be there as they grew up.

“That was not how I wanted to live my life or how I wanted to parent my children. So, I thought there’s that weird option that I never really considered and I think I’ll actually consider it now,” laughed Mcloud.

However, Mcloud doesn’t look for her clients on the street and she doesn’t come from an abusive home like so many of the women who turn to street prostitution.

It’s sort of the opposite for her. She grew up in a privileged home and attended four years of college and even had a career until she started entertaining clients in a separate apartment she rents.

“By far the most common reason about why they come to see sex workers is that they love their wives (and) they don’t want to get a divorce. They don’t want to start dating anyone, but their wives have gotten to a certain age and declared themselves done with sex, but they (the husbands) haven’t,” said Mcloud.

Mcloud believes she helps society with what she does.

“Absolutely, actually in most cases I don’t think there’s a downside to what I do, which is not to say there aren’t problems with some forms of sex work,” said Mcloud.

She says she’s never been hurt or had problems with any of her clients, but many women in the sex trade do get roughed up. In fact, law enforcement has shifted its focus to combat prostitution.

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