Am I going to get arrested?

I was waiting for her in a swanky hotel lobby. Everybody else around was either a well-scrubbed businessperson or a dorky tourist. But I looked like what I am: a shaggy freelance writer, the odd man out.

The big security guy gave me a knowing stare. Finally, my appointed lady texted me to come on up, but I was so scared that I almost stumbled into the elevator, and security shook his head and laughed!

And then it was Ms. O’Mally’s turn to laugh. Oh my dear boy, you’re such a baby. Sit down, relax, and I’m going to tell you a story. I’ve worked in brothels, and I’ve done strip clubs, bachelor parties, and everything else. I’ve worked here in Boston, Japan, Australia, and London. You know what, it hardly ever crossed my mind that what I was doing was illegal. Do you know why? Because unless something else— something nasty, is going on, the cops don’t care.

Sally O’Mally Goes to Harvard

A few years ago, I hooked up with Mass SWAN, a sex worker advocacy group and a cadre of Harvard law students who advocate for the decriminalization of sex work. In attendance at that time was a brothel owner named Maxine Duggan, who was decrying the “fact” that several brothel workers had recently been arrested. The naive Harvard kids ate it up, and when I questioned her story, Maxine went ballistic on me.

The Harvard law students had no practical, real-life experience; all their information was gleaned from media companies. I, on the other hand, had 20 years and more of real-world work experience. I had to find out who was right, Maxine or me, and the law students. It was time to take Action!

Sally Does Her Research

So I didn’t pussyfoot around with computers. No! Did you know you can walk into any courthouse in Massachusetts and ask to see arrest records? Well, that’s just what I did. In two days, I visited courthouses in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Quincy, and elsewhere. I checked back for five years.

And do you know what I found? A total of 50 prostitution cases over five years! The population of the Boston metropolitan area is estimated to be around 4.3 million in 2024. This includes the city of Boston and the surrounding suburbs across multiple counties. There are more brothels than McDonald’s in the US; all you have to do is google for a rub and tug map. 

And that’s not all. It wasn’t sex work that drew the ire of the cops in the first place. It turned out that what drew in the heat was some real evildoing that was going on, things like violence, rape, assault, opioid, drug sales, and human trafficking… the list goes on. The prostitution charges were only icing on the cake, kind of like the way cops used to tack on marijuana charges when they made a bust, just for the heck of it and just in case the other, real charges didn’t stick. In addition, just the opposite was true! For example, I once called the police in my area and said that there is a brothel in my neighborhood and asked if they were going to do something about it, and they flat out said, "NO" we will not get involved! If you don't believe me, I encourage you to do some research. Do not listen to internet hearsay. Do real-world boots-on-the-ground research. 

That Big Bust in Watertown

This sad incident goes to prove that sex work is never the primary cause of police action. In this case, too, those other misdeeds brought down the hammer, and in this instance, it was a mighty Federal hammer.

The target was a multi-city Asian operation, a big business where there were reports of customers being blackmailed. As all too often occurs in cases with foreign operators, many of the working girls were in the country illegally. Many others were fresh off the farm from various third-world locations. This enabled the owners to pay the women anywhere from one third to one twentieth of the wages that can be earned by either women who come to the US on their own or by women who are US citizens. 

Some women have full-service sex with ten different guys a day. This regime’s impact is unsustainable on a woman's body because of post-traumatic stress. Some women sex workers stay for three months and then get swapped out for a fresh girl. The brothels can remain in the exact location, while the women workers are always changing. This is good for bosses and owners as they get cheaper labor from the women and can charge cheaper prices. This maximizes the profits for people on the top and lowers wages for sex workers in the area. A win/win situation for capitalists. 

So once again, it was not prostitution that brought on the bust but blackmail. Moreover, the bust was not conducted by the Boston police but by the Feds. The evils of predatory capitalism were unnoticed by Boston police. It was genuine, intolerable, evil wrongdoing that no right-thinking person, sex worker, sex customer, or anyone else for that matter could possibly tolerate.

Sally’s One Word of Caution

So no, you have little to worry about from the police. But you are, after all, going into a mode where you will certainly end up with your pants down. In a subsequent blog, Sally will give you some hints about how not to get taken advantage of when you are in what should otherwise be a pleased situation. My advice for men when choosing a lady is to always talk on the phone directly with the woman and not with a boss. It would be best if you had this for consent purposes. There are a lot of scams out there, so don’t make large deposits. Pay after meeting in person only after you feel comfortable enough to proceed. And paying in cash is safer for both of you.

And most importantly, remember that true consent can only happen when you meet in person.