A local government worker in Massachusetts was caught this year in a sting operation when he offered to pay an undercover officer for oral sex.
So his name never became public. At other hearings that month, the results were different for three women accused of prostitution at separate Woburn hotels. Unlike the man accused of offering to pay for sex, the women did not have lawyers to represent them. And in all three cases, clerks approved criminal charges against the women for "engaging in sexual conduct for a fee. Such disparities are common in how courts handle prostitution cases in Massachusetts, according to data obtained and analyzed by WBUR, with justice often meted out more harshly for sellers than buyers.
Court data on more than criminal clerk-magistrate hearings from to in Massachusetts shows that clerks were nearly twice as likely to dismiss cases against men as compared to women. People who hired a lawyer β mostly men β were also twice as likely to avoid charges. Suspects are typically entitled to these hearings if they have been accused of a misdemeanor but were not arrested for the crime.
Clerks are supposed to dismiss cases if police cannot produce enough evidence to show there is probable cause to charge someone with violating the law. They also have discretion to dismiss a case if they can facilitate an alternative resolution. The hearings usually draw little scrutiny. They aren't listed in public court calendars. And the documents and hearings are normally closed to the public. But a high-profile federal investigation has prompted questions about whether some people get preferential treatment in these kinds of cases.
The U. Federal prosecutors have so far charged three people with running the operation and referred information on clients to local officials, including police in Massachusetts. Cambridge police requested charges against 28 of the customers, but have not released their names, occupations or other details. Cambridge District Court Clerk Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey ruled in December that the hearings should be open because of the unusual amount of public interest in the case, but declined to release the court records to WBUR.
