DA Gonzalez dismisses all outstanding prostitution-related warrants dating back to 1970s
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez has successfully asked the court system to vacate 857 open bench warrants related to prostitution and loitering for the purposes of prostitution — two charges his office no longer prosecutes.
The 857 warrants that were dismissed on Wednesday were issued between 1970 and 2011. On Jan. 29, 2021, the district attorney vacated 262 warrants from 2012 to the present and moved to dismiss the underlying cases. In all, 1,119 cases have now been dismissed, representing the entire outstanding inventory in Brooklyn. The district attorney also called on legislators to expunge old prostitution-related convictions.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “With today’s action, we have cleared all open prostitution and loitering for the purposes of prostitution cases in Brooklyn. My Office no longer prosecutes these offenses because we believe that that those who engage in these activities should be offered assistance, not criminally prosecuted. Open warrants have powerful negative consequences for the individual, and they undermine public safety. Someone with an open warrant is subject to arrest at any time, making them more likely to be driven underground and less likely to report abuse or other crimes.