Sting abuse of due process: Lawyer

[drlove 37202]

[B]Sting abuse of due process: Lawyer[/B]

[B]Undercover op to lure, catch johns being called unfair[/B]


[LIST]
[*]Metro Canada (Halifax)
[*]10 Feb 2016
[*]TC Media
[/LIST]
[IMG]http://cache3-img1.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/docserver/getimage.aspx?regionKey=tee%2f78OhmxjKdORI%2bNz1gQ%3d%3d[/IMG][I]Getty IMAGES [/I]Charging 27 Cape Breton men with obtaining sexual services is nothing more than an abuse of process by police, according to one defence lawyer who contends the charge against his client should be stayed.
Lawyer TJ McKeough said a sting operation by Cape Breton Regional Police last fall â?? dubbed John Be Gone â?? undermines societyâ??s sense of decency and fair play when it comes to criminal prosecution.
â??It is clear that this was a fishing expedition by the police in which they provided the opportunity for members of the public to commit an offence in an effort to address an isolated problem they had previously failed to correct when addressed head-on,â? said McKeough.
Between last August and September, female undercover officers posed as prostitutes and strolled along Charlotte Street in Sydney. A total of 27 men from across the island were eventually charged with a new offence in the Criminal Code of communicating with anyone for the purpose of obtaining sexual services.
Some of the accused have already entered guilty pleas and were issued fines. Several others have entered not-guilty pleas and were assigned trial dates.
McKeough has filed a challenge to the charge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a provincial court judge is expected to hear the argument in May.
In his brief filed with the court, McKeough said the release of the names of the individuals charged by police during a press conference amounted to a public shaming which he said is akin to locking someone in stocks in the town square.
â??It is completely inappropriate for a police service to induce the commission of crimes, charge individuals, publicly shame them and then leave it to the court system to sort through the fallout,â? argues McKeough.