Prostitution case: judge rejects man’s claim he was the victim of public shaming
HALIFAX — A 73-year-old man who says police in Cape Breton subjected him to “public shaming” has lost his initial bid to challenge a charge that he sought sexual services from an undercover cop.
John Russell Mercer was one of 27 men charged Sept. 8, 2015 after Cape Breton Regional Police concluded “Operation John Be Gone,” a sting operation that targeted the clients of prostitutes in downtown Sydney.
The accused ranged in age from 26 to 81, though Mercer’s lawyer said the average was in the upper 50s.
Provincial court Judge Brian Williston, in a decision released earlier this week, said Mercer argued the decision by police to stage a news conference to release the names, ages and addresses of accused was equivalent to “locking someone in the stocks.”