Hearings for alleged brothel customers will be open to press

Closed-door court hearings for the 28 people accused of buying sex from brothels in Greater Boston and Virginia will now be open to the media following a Thursday court ruling. 

Typically held in secret, the “show cause hearings” will determine whether there is enough evidence to prosecute the alleged sex buyers, whom authorities have not yet identified. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday that officials are seeking state charges against the 28 individuals and have filed applications for criminal complaints with Cambridge District Court. 

Upon announcing the arrests of three alleged brothel operators last month, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy said that the commercial sex ring — which reportedly functioned out of apartments in Cambridge, Watertown, and the Washington, D.C. suburbs — catered to a “wealthy and well-connected clientele” that included politicians, military officers, and business executives. 

Levy’s office said Monday that the names of the alleged johns would be released only after the court had found probable cause for criminal charges. However, Cambridge District Court Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey opened the show cause hearings to the media following requests from the Boston Globe, NBC10 Boston, and WBUR.

“The presumption of show cause hearings being closed and protecting the privacy rights of individuals accused of misdemeanor crimes has been a long standing and important practice of the Court,” Casey wrote in the ruling, published in full by NBC10 Boston. “However, the Court has recognized the very limited exception where legitimate public interest outweighs the individuals’ privacy rights.”

Cambridge District Court is in the process of scheduling those hearings, according to Casey. 

Affidavits filed in federal court in Boston last month revealed more details about the meticulous record-keeping and huge sums of cash that allegedly went into maintaining the brothels. According to prosecutors, Han “Hana” Lee, 41, of Cambridge, was the suspected ringleader. She is charged along with Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, and James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif. with violating the Mann Act, a federal law targeting interstate prostitution. 

All three are being held while they await trial.

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com