By Darrell Halen
Staff Writer

The chairman of Pelham’s conservation commission has been charged with allegedly soliciting a woman for sex in Nashua.

Robert Yarmo, 51, of 21 Bush Hill Road, Pelham, faces up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,000 if convicted on the prostitution charge.

He was arrested on Feb. 9 at a Nashua hotel. Yarmo is scheduled to answer to the charge on March 8 in Nashua District Court.

Nashua police announced last week that they had arrested seven men, including Yarmo, and seven women, as a result of an investigation into prostitution in the city.

Police said undercover officers contacted the prostitutes through advertisements on the Internet Web site craigslist.com, and arranged to meet the women.

The meetings were typically held at a hotel, and once money was exchanged, police would make an arrest.

Police also arrested men who responded to a bogus ad on the site and offered money to an undercover officer for sex, believing they were dealing with a prostitute.

Authorities said people need to know that prostitution is not a victimless crime.

“These types of activities are very dangerous to prostitutes and their clients for a number of different reasons,” police said in a statement. “Often times they become victims of (sexually transmitted diseases), robbery and/or thefts and then feel helpless in reporting the crime against them, in fear of the police knowing what they were doing and more importantly, their families finding out.”

Yarmo declined to comment when reached at home.