A city councilor in Cambridge, Massachussets, is accused of paying for sex at "high-end brothels" operated out of "luxury apartments" and faces calls for his resignation. Paul Toner is described as a "most frequent customer" of the service, has apologized in vague terms ("I caused a lot of pain"), and vowed not to quit.
Toner, 58, is accused of exchanging 432 texts with brothel operators and arranging to buy sex at least 13 times in 2023, allegedly making him one of the brothel ring's most frequent customers, according to a criminal complaint made public Friday. His fellow city councilors were quick to speak out after those allegations surfaced in a Cambridge District Court hearing, though their responses were somewhat mixed.
At least it wasn't a low-end brothel. That would have been too much! As it is, though, he was charged with a crime and will face the music now and the voters later.
As of Friday, Toner was one of 23 men charged with buying sex from a busted Boston-area brothel ring named in probable cause hearings. Three leaders of the ring have pleaded guilty to related crimes, including sex trafficking. Twenty-eight men total are expected to be named as "johns," and Toner is the only public official revealed so far.
Previously:
• Brothel on wheels
• 1978: Nevada puzzles over labor classification of brothel workers
• Big Brothel: Internet-enabled surveillance prostitution in Prague
