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New York judge agrees to dismiss thousands of prostitution cases

2021-04-22T13:16:57.501Z


A New York City judge has agreed to dismiss thousands of prostitution-related crimes dating back to the 1970s at the request of the Manhattan district attorney. The cases include charges related to loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.


Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will stop prosecuting prostitution or unlicensed massage cases, and has requested that thousands of court orders for incidents related to these two activities dating back to 1975 be vacated.



In a virtual hearing in In the Manhattan court, Vance asked Judge Charlotte Davidson to revoke 5,994 arrest warrants and to dismiss charges of prostitution, unlicensed massage or loitering in public places for the purpose of prostitution.

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The motion was accepted, so all the cases related to these activities up to 1975 were dismissed.



For years, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has offered services and programs to people facing these charges, but now they will outright refuse to prosecute them.

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"Now, we will refuse to fully process these arrests, and the services and support we provide will only be voluntary," said Vance, who said his office is the first in New York State to implement this measure.

"This announcement shows that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office is committed to changing its approach to the sex trade

by decriminalizing people who are in prostitution and supporting those who are at risk of being exploited," said Reverend Que English, representative of the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition.

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Most of the overturned cases in Manhattan are related to a controversial law popularly known as

Walking While Trans

, which allowed New York police officers to arbitrarily arrest anyone simply because they were wandering the streets or standing on their feet. .



According to activists, this law, which was repealed by the New York state legislature last February, was used primarily against the transgender population and against minorities.



As a result of this action, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens District Attorneys' Offices have also initiated proceedings to vacate arrest warrants resulting from these charges and to dismiss all pending cases.

In February, New York repealed a 1976 law that allowed police to arrest people who appeared to be using a public space for prostitution

.

The police could make such a judgment based on a person's dress or appearance.

Lawmakers pointed to police reports citing "wearing a skirt" as a reason for an arrest.

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Eight people, including five transgender women of color, filed a lawsuit in 2016 challenging the old law as discriminatory, saying it had led to arbitrary arrests of particular transgender people.

The plaintiffs alleged that the people were still being detained "simply because an officer does not agree with their dress or appearance."

Since then, local district attorneys had started to voluntarily stop enforcing the law.

Vance's office would continue to prosecute more serious crimes related to prostitution, including those related to coercion or human trafficking.

The decision was applauded by activists, defense attorneys and lawmakers who have pushed for changes in the law.

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"This policy should not supersede the need to pass legislation that completely decriminalizes sex work and provides criminal record relief for people convicted of prostitution offenses," said Abigail Swenstein, attorney for the Legal Aid Society, in a joint statement. with Vance.

With information from EFE and AP.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-04-22

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