A Cambridge city councilor was identified on Friday as one of some two dozen men facing charges of buying sex from women at what local and federal investigators describe as a high-priced brothel.
The councilor, Paul F. Toner, was named during a second day of hearings determining probable cause to move forward in Cambridge District Court.
He did not attend the hearing. Later Friday afternoon, Toner sent GBH News a statement through a communications representative.
“I caused pain for the people I care about most. For that, I will be forever sorry,'' he wrote. ”This is an ongoing legal matter and I will not have further comment at this time.”
At the hearing, law enforcement said his photo on file at the Registry of Motor Vehicles matched surveillance footage taken at the location of one of the Cambridge apartments used as a brothel. He was observed entering the premise on April 17, 2023, law enforcement said.
Clerk Magistrate Sharon S. Casey found probable cause to move forward with the case.
This is the second day of hearings in the high-profile case involving the alleged exploitation of women who provided sex for a fee at apartment buildings in Cambridge and Watertown, as well as locations in Virginia.
Eleven men faced charges on Friday including those from Belmont, Watertown, Lincoln, Concord, Tewksbury and Marblehead. GBH News has opted not to identify most of the men because they do not appear to be people of prominence and are facing misdemeanor charges.
That decision did not sit well with several observers in court representing organizations that are working to dismantle the commercial sex industry.
Chantha Carter, a director of development and strategy for a Framingham-based nonprofit called RIA, which supports people with experience in the commercial sex trade, said that naming the accused is important for the purpose of stopping demand.
“The demand is fueled by the buyer, 100%,” she said. ”If you don’t have buyers, you don’t have traffickers. And if you don’t have traffickers, there’s no need to find more bodies to exploit. That simple.”
During the hearing, Cambridge Police Lt. Jarred Cabral, read from a statement from officers assigned to a Homeland Security Task Force describing the language and instructions from customers to the brothel operators stipulating their sexual demands.
Carter said it sounded as if they were, in her words, “door-dashing” bodies to men’s doors.
“You know, like people are waking up and they’re ordering food off a menu,” she said dismissively.
None of the men charged were present at Friday’s hearing. The clerk magistrate issued summonses for each of them. The final probable cause hearing will be held March 28 for the rest of the men facing charges.
