“In a case of first impression, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled last week that state troopers committed “outrageous government conduct” when investigating alleged prostitution at a massage parlor in the Lehigh Valley by giving money to an undercover informant to have sex four times with two different women at the parlor.”
The patron at a massage parlor complained to police when he was offered sexual acts after a massage. The man declined because he didnt have enough money. The police made the guy an informant, had him wear a wire and provided him with money to solicit sexual acts from two different women on four separate occasions.
Who thought this was a good idea? Of all the ways to stop prostitution the police thought providing an informant with money to solicit sex would be the winner? However, genius move on the informant’s part. This guy couldn’t afford a prostitute on his own so he just hit up the local police for a little extra hooker cash. Smooth, very smooth.
To make matters worse, the investigator admitted at a trial court hearing that he and the other officers laughed about each episode with each other and the informant; and that, despite his belief probable cause was established just with a defendant’s verbal acquiescence to have sex after the proffer of money, he “instructed the confidential informant to ‘go ahead and have sex’ if he felt ‘comfortable’ as ‘that was part of the crime,’” according to Bender.
Luckily, the Court agrees tat this kin of behavior is unacceptable. The unanimous panel of Judges John T. Bender and Jack A. Panella and Senior Judge John T.J. Kelly Jr. upheld Lehigh County Common Pleas Judge Robert L. Steinberg’s 2008 order dismissing charges of prostitution and promoting prostitution against defendant Sun Cha Chon. Steinberg found the state police investigating alleged prostitution at Shiatsu Spa committed outrageous government conduct and violated Chon’s constitutional rights to due process.
