Lawyers argue alleged high-powered clients of brothels must be secret

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U.S. politicians, military officers and government contractors who were alleged clients of high-end sex brothels want to remain anonymous.

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According to reports, the media is pushing a court to name the high-powered individuals who allegedly used the services of six brothels in the suburbs of Boston and Washington, D.C.

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However, lawyers for the privileged persons are arguing to keep their identities a secret, reports Britain’s Daily Mail.

According to the U.S. Attorney General’s office, “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.”

Earlier this month, a Massachusetts judge set the wheels in motion for future hearings on naming the 28 alleged individuals, who have not been charged.

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“Opening the show cause hearings to the public … promotes transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the judiciary by demonstrating that each individual accused of these crimes, no matter their station in life, is treated equally,” Supreme Judicial Court Justice Frank Gaziano said, according to the Boston Herald.

In Massachusetts, show cause hearings are usually held behind closed doors. However, the media is asking for the hearings to be open to the public, which would identify the individuals before any charges are laid or arrests are made.

Opening the hearings would expose the alleged clients to “a gauntlet of voracious gossipers, media personnel and onlookers,” one lawyer argued.

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Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said the brothels served “a wealthy and well-connected clientele” that may have ensnared high-powered officials and other prominent people.

Junmyung Lee, of Dedham, Mass., Han Lee, of Cambridge, Mass., and James Lee, of Torrance, Calif., were charged in November 2023. They are all South Korean-born U.S. nationals but not related.

The U.S. Justice Department said, as early as July 2020, the accused ran online advertisements using images of naked Asian women and rented high-end apartments to attract primarily Asian women to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution.

According to the allegations, the accused set up two websites to advertise their prostitution network. They charged sex buyers a premium price, approximately $350 to upwards of $600 per hour, depending on the services.

“Over the course of the investigation, a wide array of buyers were identified, including, but not limited to, politicians, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants,” the Justice Department said.

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