Guest W***ledi*Time Report post Posted January 28, 2010 Report by Steve Bruce, The Chronicle-Herald, 28 Jan 2010: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/9015002.html A 27-year-old Halifax woman was arraigned Thursday on a charge of operating a bawdy house at her home in Clayton Park. Goldeen St. Anne Duncan made a brief appearance before Judge Richard MacKinnon in Halifax provincial court. Defence lawyer Margaret MacKenzie of Nova Scotia Legal Aid said she was awaiting disclosure of evidence from the Crown. Judge MacKinnon ordered Ms. Duncan to return to court March 3. Ms. Duncan was arrested Dec. 8 after police searched her dwelling at 7 Red Fern Terrace. According to court documents, the offence of keeping a common bawdy house was allegedly committed between Dec. 1 and Dec. 4. A man also arrested at the house was released without being charged. Police said they didn't believe he was at the home for the purpose of obtaining sexual services. Police didn't release Ms. Duncan's name or the exact civic address of the property in question when they announced the charge Dec. 9. They said the two-month investigation stemmed from ?public complaints generated from within that neighbourhood.? Red Fern Terrace is a quiet street lined with well-kept single-family homes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest s******ecan**** Report post Posted January 29, 2010 Thanks for the update WIT Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest W***ledi*Time Report post Posted September 26, 2010 A guilty plea has been entered in this case. It is to a lesser charge, which is termed "soliciting sexual services" in the following newspaper article, with no details given. Based on its being a summary offense only, as far as I can figure out the actual offense being pled must be one of: "found in/permitting" a Bawdy-House (210 (2)), "transporting" to a Bawdy House (211), or "communication in public" (213). (The only actual mention of "soliciting" in the Criminal Code is in the "Procuring" section (212), which is neither a summary offense, nor a lesser charge.) The Chronicle-Herald report of 25 Sep 2010: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1203653.html A Halifax woman charged with operating a bawdy house at a home in Clayton Park last year has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of soliciting sexual services. Goldeen St. Anne Duncan, 27, entered the plea Wednesday in Halifax provincial court. Judge Barbara Beach ordered her to return to court Dec. 15 for sentencing. The maximum penalty for the summary offence is six months in jail or a $2,000 fine. The original charge against the woman was an indictable offence and carried a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Duncan was arrested last Dec. 8 after police searched her dwelling on Red Fern Terrace, a quiet street lined with well-kept single-family homes. She was charged with keeping a common bawdy house. Police said the two-month investigation stemmed from "public complaints generated from within that neighbourhood." Duncan has since moved to an apartment building on Sybil Court in nearby Fairview. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Accelerate 105 Report post Posted September 26, 2010 Thanks for the update WIT, and for the sharing of wisdom. Interesting topic indeed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the12jj 100 Report post Posted September 28, 2010 wow right in our own backyard....... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest W***ledi*Time Report post Posted December 19, 2010 This case has resulted in a conditional discharge and probation, with community service. Note the small volume of traffic documented following the complaint received by police -- only four customers in one week. Steve Bruce reports for the Chronicle-Herald, 17 Dec 2010: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1217689.html A Halifax woman who offered genital massages to a pair of undercover police officers at her home in Clayton Park last December has been handed a conditional discharge. Goldeen St. Anne Duncan, 28, was originally charged with keeping a common bawdy house but pleaded guilty earlier this fall to the lesser offence of soliciting sexual services. Duncan, who now lives at an apartment building in Fairview, was sentenced Wednesday in Halifax provincial court. The conditional discharge, with a year?s probation, was jointly recommended by lawyers for the Crown and defence. Crown attorney Catherine Cogswell told the court that police received information in October 2009 that a bawdy house was being operated at 7 Red Fern Terrace. The home was put under surveillance. Vice officers observed four different men visiting the house over a one-week period. "It was determined that the accused in this matter had set up a massage business out of her home," Cogswell said. Two undercover officers made appointments with the massage service on two different nights last December. "Both officers were offered a genital massage by the accused if they paid an extra $20," the prosecutor said. The maximum penalty for the summary offence of soliciting is six months in jail or a $2,000 fine. The original charge against Duncan was an indictable offence and carried a maximum penalty of two years in prison. Duncan, a native of the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent who is in Canada on a student visa, told the author of her presentence report that she didn?t know her actions were illegal. Cogswell said she found it "incredulous" that Duncan didn?t know that giving men genital massages for a fee was against the law in Canada. "I?m truly sorry for everything that has happened and all the trouble I have caused," Duncan told the court. "How in the world did you come to believe that what you were doing was conduct that was acceptable in this community?" Judge Barbara Beach asked the woman. Duncan said she didn?t think that what she was doing was considered prostitution. "At that time, I wasn?t aware, but now I am aware ? very much aware." The judge replied: "I?m with the Crown here, Ms. Duncan, in finding it extraordinarily hard to believe that an intelligent young woman like yourself who is attending university, involved in what appears to be a stable marriage, would find yourself in this kind of situation, believing that this kind of behaviour was acceptable. "I do hope you?ve learned a valuable lesson from this involvement in our criminal justice system." Duncan has no previous criminal record. Beach described her presentence report as excellent. "Many people speak very highly of you, Ms. Duncan," the judge said. "Pastor Paul Wilson said you?re outgoing, personable, open and honest. Virtually everyone who was contacted for the report was surprised to hear of your involvement in this matter." The judge said she was satisfied that it would not be contrary to the public interest to give Duncan a conditional discharge. Under the conditions of her one-year period of probation, Duncan can?t possess any weapons, has to complete 25 hours of community service and must participate in a support program for sex-trade workers. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foxtrot6969 162 Report post Posted January 19, 2011 I based in Halifax and this is new to me as well Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteMarie 165 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 As an SP, I look forward to the day when we can provide our services with the full protection of the law, as opposed to trying to operate under the radar. There are those in the Upper echelons of power who claim, Canada will become a Sodom and Gomorrah...not so when you look at countries who've legalized it! I feel for this young woman. D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
