SJC delays hearings for alleged clients in high-end brothel case

A Supreme Judicial Court justice has delayed the initial hearings for 28 people accused of buying sex from a Greater Boston brothel network that allegedly catered to a “wealthy and well-connected clientele.”

Filed Wednesday afternoon, Associate Justice Frank M. Gaziano’s interim order came less than a day before the first of the alleged sex buyers were due to appear in Cambridge District Court for “show-cause” hearings.

Those hearings are typically held in secret, away from the public eye. However, Cambridge District Court Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey previously decided to open the hearings following requests from The Boston Globe, NBC10 Boston, and WBUR. 

The hearings will determine whether there is enough evidence to prosecute the alleged sex buyers, who have not been publicly named.

The Globe and WBUR also jointly petitioned the SJC to ask that documents in the case be publicly released, WBUR reported. Boston Globe Media Partners, the parent company of Boston.com, is a named plaintiff in the SJC case regarding the release of documents.

The news outlets’ request was met with pushback from Shelfer Casey, the Association of Magistrates and Assistant Clerks of The Trial Court, and several people accused of buying sex at the brothels.

Some of the alleged johns filed a motion objecting to the public release of criminal complaint applications before the show-cause hearings. Shelfer Casey, they argued, erred in opening the hearings to the public in the first place.

Each defendant “will have their name and reputation tarnished before criminal process has even issued and before he has any opportunity to defend himself,” wrote lawyers for 13 of the alleged sex buyers, identified only as John Does.

In his order, Gaziano granted a request from the John Does to postpone the district court proceedings until further notice.

He gave the men until Monday afternoon to file any further response to the request from the Globe and WBUR. Boston.com has contacted several lawyers who are representing the men; one declined to comment.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office, which filed a response on Shelfer Casey’s behalf, also declined to comment further on the matter.

In its filing, the AG’s office argued that opening the hearings to the public and releasing the criminal complaint applications in advance were two substantially different requests. In a hearing, the accused is able to share their version of events and the clerk-magistrate can exercise some discretion and control over the proceedings, Campbell’s office argued.

“By contrast, granting access to the complaint applications before the show-cause hearings take place would essentially allow unfettered review, use, and potentially publication of the complainant’s allegations before the accused has had the opportunity to respond and before the Clerk-Magistrate has made a probable-cause determination,” the AG’s office asserted.

A lawyer for the Association of Magistrates and Assistant Clerks of the Trial Court did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The brothel case made national headlines in November when authorities announced the arrests of three people accused of operating a commercial sex ring in Cambridge, Watertown, and the Washington, D.C., suburbs. Han “Hana” Lee, 41, of Cambridge; Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham; and James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California, are all charged with violating the Mann Act, a federal law that targets interstate prostitution.

Federal prosecutors previously announced that the commercial sex ring had a client base that included politicians, military officers, business executives, and other high-profile individuals.

“Pick a profession; they’re probably represented in this case,” acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said during a Nov. 8 news conference. “They are the men who fueled this commercial sex ring.”

In their motion, however, attorneys for the John Does disputed prosecutors’ description of “powerful or elite” individuals. They said the group of men includes a lawyer who doesn’t work for the government, a doctor affiliated with a public hospital, and a scientist without government ties.

“They are private citizens who face adverse and embarrassing collateral consequences if their name and image are published before they have the opportunity to face this case at a clerk’s hearing or in a court of law,” the attorneys wrote.

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