CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - A number of individuals accused of paying for sex at high end brothels around Boston were called to court for the first time Friday.
Friday’s probable cause hearings marked the first public disclosure of the alleged brothel clients’ identities, something the defendants fought in court to keep from happening.
Three groups, totaling 28 defendants, will go through this process. All are facing charges of sexual conduct for a fee at brothels that were run in Cambridge, Watertown, and Washington, D.C.
Cambridge police prosecutors outlined how the men used phones to set up certain times and fees before arriving at apartments in Cambridge and Watertown.
“They contacted a phone number associated with the brothel website, ending in 5147, known as the ‘brothel phone,'” said Lieutenant Jarred Cabral of the Cambridge police department.
The U.S. Attorney said all of the defendants are “wealthy and well-connected clientele”.
Federal investigators said that includes politicians, military officials, doctors, lawyers, and business owners.
Attorneys for the clients were looking for their cases to be set aside, including one client who works at a Boston hospital.
“We deserve, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts deserves, to keep this young healthcare hero employed,” said an attorney. “He was a frontline worker during COVID-19.”
The second group of defendants will have a hearing next Friday, and the third will be in court the Friday after that.
The three people, two men and one woman, accused of running these brothels all pleaded guilty in federal court. One is set for sentencing Wednesday morning in Cambridge. All of them were charged with conspiracy to coerce women and money laundering. One was also charged with wire fraud.
The clerk found probable cause to issue 12 criminal complaints amid the hearing.
16 more men have their own probable cause hearing between Friday and the end of March.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided in November to open the hearings taking place Friday and over the next few weeks to the public.
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