This is the article that I was responding to on the PSNA listserv and, of course, other news accounts. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Anna Leslie <anna.leslie1@gmail.com> Date: Sat, Mar 22, 2025 at 5:53 PM Subject: [Porter square] Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner named in brothel case To: Porter Square Neighbors Association <portersquare@googlegroups.com> In case you missed it: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/21/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-men... Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner named in brothel case By Sean Cotter <https://www.bostonglobe.com/about/staff-list/staff/sean-cotter/?p1=Article_Byline> , Danny McDonald <https://www.bostonglobe.com/about/staff-list/staff/danny-mcdonald/?p1=Article_Byline> and Jeremiah Manion <https://www.bostonglobe.com/about/staff-list/staff/jeremiah-manion/?p1=Article_Byline> Globe Staff,Updated March 21, 2025, 21 minutes ago <https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/21/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-men-charged/?event=event25> <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Boston%20brothel%20names%3A%20More%20alleged%20customers%20identified&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bostonglobe.com%2F2025%2F03%2F21%2Fmetro%2Fcambridge-watertown-brothel-men-charged%2F%3Fevent%3Devent25&via=BostonGlobe> 111 <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/21/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-men-charged/#bgmp-comments> [image: L-R James Hunt and Morgan Bae both from Beverly with EMMA Coalition-Amirah Inc demonstrate outside the Cambridge Juvenile Court building in Cambridge.]L-R James Hunt and Morgan Bae both from Beverly with EMMA Coalition-Amirah Inc demonstrate outside the Cambridge Juvenile Court building in Cambridge.DAVID L. RYAN/GLOBE STAFF Cambridge City Councilor Paul Toner was among those publicly identified in court Friday as men who allegedly bought sex through a local brothel ring <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/19/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-han-lee-sentencing/?p1=StaffPage&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> that operated out of luxury apartments. To date, more than 20 such men have been identified and Toner is so far the highest profile individual of that group. Toner immediately released a statement saying, “I caused pain for the people I care about most. For that, I will be forever sorry. This is an ongoing legal matter and I will not have further comment at this time.” His attorney, Tim Flaherty, told reporters Friday that, “I’ve known Paul Toner my entire life, and in my view, he’s a man of high character... He loves his family, and his family loves him. None of us are perfect. He’s a hard working city councilor, and the City of Cambridge is lucky to have him.” This is the second day of initial court hearings for the 28 men accused of being among the most frequent patrons of the network that authorities have said dominated the illicit industry in the Boston area. The hearings started Friday morning in an East Cambridge courtroom. So far on Friday, several more men are facing charges of paying for sex in connection with the brothel ring. Their identities were made public in open court, and the Globe was able to confirm the identities of: Toner, of Cambridge, Jeffrey Henry, of Exeter, N.H., Steven Riel of Laconia, N.H., Howard Redmond, of Tewksbury, Frederick G. Rosenthal, of Marblehead, Timothy Ackerson, of Waltham, Matthew Ellis Fulton, of Belmont, Nathaniel Welch, of Concord, and Anurag Bajpayee. None of the men whose names were made public Friday appeared in court Friday morning. “These are mere allegations,” Lorraine D. Belostock, who represented six men who were named in court on Friday, told reporters outside the courthouse. “All of my clients are presumed innocent under the law.” RelatedCambridge brothel ringleader sentenced to four years in federal prison <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/19/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-han-lee-sentencing/?p1=Article_Inline_Related_Box>Men accused of buying sex through Cambridge-area brothel ring identified for first time <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/14/metro/cambridge-brothel-case-men-hearings/?p1=Article_Inline_Related_Box> Daniel Gaudet, attorney for Bajpayee, sought to poke holes in the police narrative, saying evidence around his client was inconsistent. Bajpayee was not present. ”Probable cause is lacking,” Gaudet said. “It’s not enough.” Casey asked if Gaudet’s client denied that the cell phone number tied to him was his. Gaudet said he wasn’t going to comment on that. Casey ruled to move ahead with charges against Bajpayee. Outside the courtroom, Gaudet said his client was “not anyone any of you would have heard of.” He declined to comment further. As they did during the first spate of hearings a week ago, Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral read through police reports detailing how investigators used the brothel’s primary cell phone to track down suspected patrons. Investigators focused on men who they said had the most text exchanges with the hotline, which served as the primary point of contact for the brothel.In each instance, Cabral detailed matching contact information in the phone with cell phone records, RMV photos, and passport applications. Authorities then used surveillance footage in the apartment buildings that held the brothels to further match the men, Cabral said. [image: Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral makes a point in an East Cambridge courtroom after reading a police report describing men accused of buying sex from the Cambridge/Watertown brothels.]Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral makes a point in an East Cambridge courtroom after reading a police report describing men accused of buying sex from the Cambridge/Watertown brothels.MATT STONE/POOL The text conversations Cabral detailed were brief and businesslike, with the brothel operators repeating a set of instructions about how the men were not allowed to make individual arrangements with the women. The men often asked for women by name, sometimes spur of the moment — “Who is in Cambridge today? I’ll be in the area,” one texted the phone, according to Cabral. Last week, the names of the first 12 men became public <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/14/metro/cambridge-brothel-case-men-hearings/?p1=StaffPage&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link>. They spanned a range of professions and backgrounds: a software engineer, a hospital lab tech, a dentist. Authorities have sought charges against all 28 men who they say most frequently exchanged hundreds of text messages with the brothel hot line and made multiple appointments. All of their names are due to be identified in the next set of hearings today and next Friday in court in Cambridge. The brothel network operated for at least three years out of luxury apartment buildings in Cambridge, Watertown, and the suburbs of Washington, D.C. In November 2023, federal authorities broke up the ring, arresting three operators. All three have pleaded guilty, and ringleader Han “Hana” Lee, 42, was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/19/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-han-lee-sentencing/?p1=StaffPage&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> . She admitted to running an elaborate network that shuttled women between cities and apartments, charging men hundreds of dollars an hour for sex. Prosecutors recently said the ring netted more than $5.6 million from more than 9,000 “dates.” It was, authorities said this week during Lee’s sentencing, one of the most successful brothel networks on the East Coast. The operators kept extensive records, including saved photos and references. From there, authorities said they were able to identify many of the men. Following the initial charges against the brothel operators, the case grabbed national headlines when prosecutors announced that the network catered to an elite clientele that included elected officials, government contractors with security clearances, doctors, lawyers, and professors. In December 2023, a state task force working with federal authorities sought charges in Cambridge District Court against the 28 men who were the most frequent customers. Overall, authorities said, the brothel phone had more than 2,800 contacts, but they sought charges against those who generally exchanged more than 400 texts with the brothel phone as they made numerous appointments, according to charging documents. Hearings on whether criminal charges should be brought, known as “show-cause” hearings, were delayed for more than a year, as the men sought to keep them closed to the public. Typically, show-cause hearings are private. They’re used when someone’s accused of a misdemeanor crime for which they were not arrested. These hearings are held in front of a clerk-magistrate, who determines if there’s probable cause for formal charges. If so, the case enters the public record. The process is unique to Massachusetts, and has often come under scrutiny, with critics taking aim <https://apps.bostonglobe.com/metro/investigations/spotlight/secret-courts-in-massachusetts/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> at the lack of transparency and the possibility of preferential treatment <https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/09/09/sjc-orders-district-court-clerks-audio-record-show-cause-hearings-wake-globe-spotlight-series/0ypDPJ4vXpZ5pxjju4a9KJ/story.html?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> . In the brothel case, following the requests of media outlets including the Globe, the Cambridge clerk-magistrate ordered the hearings to be opened to the public. But the men continued to challenge the open hearings in a series of court appeals. Media outlets also requested more public documentation about the case. The state Supreme Judicial Court ultimately ruled the hearings <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/09/09/metro/cambridge-watertown-brothel-case-hearings-arguments/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link%5C&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> should be held in public. The charge of paying for sex, which is what each of the men faces, typically does not result in jail time, even when there is a conviction. But many advocates for exploited women say the public shaming <https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/29/metro/mass-brothel-case/?p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link&p1=Article_Inline_Text_Link> that can come with such a charge is an important deterrent. If they can stop people from buying sex, they say, they can stop the exploitation and trafficking of women. Last Friday, Clerk Sharon Casey ruled that there was probable cause to advance the charges for all 12 men whose cases she considered. All had been summonsed into court, but 10 of them did not appear, avoiding the media scrum around the East Cambridge courthouse. They faced no consequence for not attending the court hearing but also were not able to give personal testimony. All 12 will be summonsed to be arraigned on the charges in the coming weeks. -- View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/portersquare/topic-id/message-id -- To post to this group, send email to portersquare@googlegroups.com Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/portersquare -- Ruth Ryals raryals@gmail.com