Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance will stop prosecuting prostitution or unlicensed massage cases, and has requested that thousands of court orders for incidents involving these two activities dating back to 1975 be vacated.
In a virtual hearing in Manhattan court, Vance asked Judge Charlotte Davidson to revoke a total of 5,994 arrest warrants and to dismiss charges of prostitution, unlicensed massage or loitering in public places for the purpose of prostitution.
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.
“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.
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 lingering. standing.
According to activists, this law, which was repealed by the New York state legislature last February, was used primarily against the transgender population and against minorities.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.
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