High-end VA brothel's alleged clients push to keep identities concealed
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Attorneys representing doctors, lawyers and elected officials who reportedly patronized a high-end brothel in Northern Virginia are pushing to keep their identities concealed.
An apartment building in McLean was one of several listed as a location for the multi-state brothel. In the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Boston on Monday, attorneys argued for the so-called John Does to keep their names private – names that reportedly include elected officials, politicians and public figures.
It appears no decision was made by the justices.
"It's a balancing act, in terms of privacy," said Associate Justice Scott Kafker.
An attorney representing the John Does says they will lose their jobs, their professions and have their lives ripped apart if their names are made public. That attorney is representing 16 men in this case.
But several media outlets are requesting the names be made public. Part of the argument to make the names public centers around what one of the justices described as "significant public interest" and assuring the public that powerful people would not be given preferential treatment behind closed doors.
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In November, Massachusetts US Attorney Josh Levy announced the arrest of three people accused of operating the brothel out of several apartment buildings nationwide, including in Fairfax and Tysons Corner. The three accused are 41-year-old Han Lee, 68-year-old James Lee and 30-year-old Junmyung Lee.
READ MORE: 3 charged with operating 'high-end' brothel network in Virginia, DOJ says