The authorities have requested charges against another 16 men who, according to them, exchanged hundreds of text messages with the brothel line and made multiple appointments. Their names, for now, remain private, but will identify in the next set of hearings today and next Friday in the Cambridge court.
The Brothel network operated for at least three years in luxury apartments in Cambridge, Watertown and the Washington suburbs, DC, in November 2023, the federal authorities broke the ring, stopping three operators.
The three have declared themselves guilty, and the leader have “Hana” Lee, 42, He was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison..
She admitted having made an elaborate network that transferred women between cities and apartments, charging men hundreds of dollars per hour for sex. Prosecutors recently said that the ring obtained more than $ 5.6 million more than 9,000 “dates.” It was, authorities said this week during Lee’s judgment, one of the most successful brothel networks on the east coast.
The operators kept extensive records, including stored photos and references. From there, the authorities said they could identify many of the men. After the initial positions against the brothel operators, the case caught national headlines when prosecutors announced that the network attended an elite clientele that included elected officials, government contractors with security authorizations, doctors, lawyers and teachers.
In December 2023, a state working group that works with the federal authorities requested positions in the Cambridge district court against the 28 men who were the most frequent customers. In general, the authorities said, the brothel phone had more than 2,800 contacts, but requested charges against those who generally exchanged more than 400 text messages with the brothel phone while making numerous appointments, according to loading documents.
Hearings on whether criminal charges should be presented, known as “show-causa” audiences, were delayed for more than a year, since men sought to keep them closed to the public.
In general, exhibition cause audiences are private. They are used when someone is accused of a minor crime for which they were not arrested. These hearings are held in front of a Secretary-Address, which determines whether there is a probable cause of formal charges.
If so, the case enters the public registry.
The process is exclusive to Massachusetts, it has often been subject to scrutiny, with Critics point out for lack of transparency and Possibility of preferential treatment.
In the case of the brothel, following the requests of the media, including the Globe, the magistrate of the Secretary of Cambridge ordered that the audiences be opened to the public. But men continued to challenge open audiences in a series of judicial appeals. The media also requested more public documentation on the case. The State Supreme Judicial Court finally He ruled the audiences It must be carried out in public.
The position of paying sex, which is what each of the men faces, generally does not result in jail time, even when there is a conviction.
But many defenders of exploited women say public shame That can come with such position is an important deterrent element. If they can prevent people from buying sex, they say, they can stop women’s exploitation and traffic.
Last Friday, Secretary Sharon Casey ruled that there was a probable cause to advance the positions for the 12 men whose cases considered.
All had been summoned to the courts, but 10 of them did not appear, avoiding the media scrum around the East Cambridge court. They did not face consequences not to attend the judicial hearing, but they could not give personal testimony.
The 12 will be summoned to be prosecuted for charges in the coming weeks.
You can contact Sean Cotter at Sea.cotter@globe.com. Follow it @cotterreporter.
