Despite the fact that for the past year Massachusetts has been armed with a new law to crack down on human trafficking and the people who pay for sex, a New England Center for Investigative Reporting report found that most men arrested in Suffolk County for buying sex, known as "johns," get their charges dropped.
This is part three in a four-part series on the challenges police encounter when going after "johns. In an unmarked SUV — the color of which blends with the night — Lt.
Stephen Haberek drives along rain-drenched Union Street looking for signs of illicit activity in downtown Lynn. Haberek heads the city of Lynn's Special Investigation Unit responsible for taking on drugs, guns and sex crimes.
You find them where traffic is going to come by. That drives his ambition to stamp out the street prostitution and related vices that have given Lynn a reputation in the underground trade — drawing in undesirable elements to this city who feed on a smorgasbord of taboos.
They come to Lynn. Over the past year, Lynn has been doing what many other municipalities across the state are not: Police are arresting men who solicit sex in greater numbers than the girls and women who are being prostituted on the streets. Impressive numbers, yes, but as is often the case, lopsided numbers.
