A prostituted person who worked previously as a dancer at Blush, a Gentleman’s club in Allegheny County, was stabbed to death by Nguyen Tran on August 30, 2017. Mr. Tran’s court records do now show any past charges regarding solicitation, however the victim’s body was found in Mr. Tran’s home. According to the Post-Gazette, a family friend of the victim denied the two were in a relationship.
Back in July of this year, the victim and a second dancer at Blush were arrested by two undercover police who went to the strip club to conduct a prostitution sting operation. Allegedly, the two women offered to have sex with the undercover officers for $1,200 each. Additionally, the victim in this case allegedly attempted to sell cocaine to the officers for an additional $100. The victim was charged with two drug related charges and two misdemeanor of the third degree prostitution related charges. The second dancer was also charged with three prostitution related charges, one being a third degree felony, along with a drug charge and disorderly conduct.
Recently, all of the charges were withdrawn from the case against the second dancer, except for a single disorderly conduct charge. Fortunately, the murder victim’s charges were all withdrawn, but only after she was deceased. The CSE Institute commends the Allegheny District Attorney’s Office for dropping the prostitution charges in this case. However, we would encourage Allegheny County police and prosecutors to implement anti-demand policing tactics like reverse sting operations that help target buyers of sex and encourage the a shift in policing practices toward the Nordic model. It is important to recognize that prostituted people are often victims of crimes and need social services support, rehabilitation and exit strategies outside of the criminal justice system. The collateral consequences that go along with sexual exploitation impact the lives of prostituted persons including being victims of violent crimes. Drugs, physical abuse, and sexual violence are some of the many encounters prostituted people may face from their traffickers and sex buyers. While there is no evidence to confirm that the homicide in this matter was related to human trafficking, the unfortunate end to the victim in this case is all too common for prostituted people.
Cases such as this illustrate the dangerous realities faced by most prostituted persons and those who work in sex-related industries. Contrary to how the media often portrays commercial sexual exploitation, situations like the one the in Starz’s “The Girlfriend Experience” where the protagonist attends a prestigious law school by day and sells sex to intriguing, wealthy men at night, are few and far between. Unfortunately, it is much more common for prostituted persons to become victims of violent crimes than to end up like Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman”. Hopefully law enforcement will take the time to learn more about the harmful collateral consequences of the life for prostituted people and advocate for them receive help including services that include viable exit strategies rather perpetuate a cycle involving criminal justice and the collateral consequences that don’t have to become inevitable.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.