Crime
All but two of the accused skipped their initial hearings in Cambridge District Court Friday. More alleged sex buyers are expected to be identified in hearings later this month.
Expected to face the public for the first time Friday, the first batch of men accused of buying sex from a Greater Boston brothel network largely refused to appear for their initial court hearings.
All but two of the accused skipped their probable cause hearings in Cambridge District Court, which marked the first public disclosure of alleged brothel clients’ names. Authorities are seeking charges against a total of 28 individuals, with initial hearings staggered across three dates in March.
At least one defense attorney said his client’s absence was in objection to Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey’s choice to make the typically closed-door hearings open to the public — a decision reinforced by a November ruling from the state’s highest court.
“With great respect to the decision of the Supreme Judicial Court, my client continues his objection to this hearing being public, and I would ask the clerk to reconsider,” said Howard Cooper, an attorney for accused sex buyer John Doran.
Casey agreed to file charges against all 12 whose cases were called Friday.
The men’s identities have been a source of fervent speculation since November 2023, when federal prosecutors announced the arrests of three people accused of operating a high-end brothel network out of apartments in Cambridge, Watertown, and the Washington, D.C., suburbs. At the time, then-U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said the “wealthy and well-connected clientele” included politicians, military officers, doctors, lawyers, and business executives.
Speaking in court, Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral ran through a series of similar police reports for each man, providing some insight into the communications between the brothel operators and their accused clients, who would allegedly agree to spend hundreds of dollars an hour for time with sex workers. He also outlined common terminology, such as the boundary-blurring “girlfriend experience” and the use of “donations” to refer to payments.
Lawyers for alleged brothel clients urge leniency
So-called show-cause hearings determine whether there is probable cause to issue a criminal complaint and allow prosecutors to pursue the case further. While the alleged sex buyers fought to keep those hearings private, the Supreme Judicial Court agreed Levy’s announcement “raised legitimate public concerns about potential favoritism and bias if such hearings were held behind closed doors.”
Appearing on behalf of his client David LaCava, who did not attend the hearing, defense attorney Kevin Mahoney urged Casey to use her discretion in determining probable cause. He asserted police have already exercised some discretion in pursuing criminal charges, noting that while the U.S. Attorney’s Office estimated the number of verified brothel customers at more than 2,800, only 28 men have been accused in Cambridge District Court.
“Not everybody is going to be exposed here criminally. Not everybody here is going to be prosecuted. Not everybody here is going to be penalized,” Mahoney said. “So it’s just a very small number of people that are at risk here, and my client is not one of the individuals, madam clerk, that anybody in the media is going to be interested in. He’s a software engineer. He doesn’t hold any government clearances.”
Defense attorney Steven Goldwyn likewise pleaded for leniency, noting his client, Mark Zhu, “has 0.0 criminal record of any sort.”
Zhu and another man, Jason Han, were the only alleged sex buyers to appear in court Friday. Han’s attorney, John Pensa, acknowledged sufficient probable cause but argued Casey should make an exception given his client’s lack of criminal history, as well as his career in health care.
“He’s given a ton back to this community,” Pensa said. “No substance abuse issues. No mental health issues. Just an upstanding citizen.”
If Han were to lose his license to work as an interventional radiologic technologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “We’re going to lose an incredible member of the community in Boston,” he argued.
Pensa added: “We deserve — the commonwealth of Massachusetts deserves — to keep this young health care hero employed.”
Casey addressed Han directly in her reply.
“This is a blip in the radar, and I know that you’re going to get through it. OK?” she said. “You’re going to do the right thing, alright? It’s a misdemeanor. You’re going to get through this.”
Defense attorney David Yannetti, representing Jonathan Lanfear and Pinhao Chao, tried a different tack, arguing the evidence against both his clients was insufficient.
“This is all, in my view, rank speculation,” he said as he addressed Chao’s case.
Below are the names of the accused whose probable cause hearings were held Friday:
- Kerry Hk Wu, born 1970
- John J. Doran, born 1949
- Boya Zhou, born 1997
- David LaCava, born 1978, from Waltham
- Mark Zhu, born 1996, from Lincoln
- Jason Zixuan Han, born 1995, from Concord
- Peter H. MacGillivray, born 1964, from Boston
- Yihong Zou, born 1994
- Pablo Domingo Maceira, born 1985, from Roslindale
- Jonathan Lanfear, born 1968, from Winchester
- Pinhao Chao, born 1992, from Newton
- Patrick Walsh
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