{shortcode-29a172106cca6f21089bec07a5a8339c94a9b0e0}

Initial probable cause hearings for 28 alleged customers of a high-end brothel network in Cambridge and Watertown will be open to the public, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday morning.

The hearings for the sex-buyers, which include government officials, academics and military officers, will determine if there is probable cause to press charges against the individuals. The hearings, which will take place in Cambridge District Court, have yet to be scheduled.

The ruling marks a turning point for the protracted legal drama over whether and how the supposedly elite clientele would be charged for buying sex from the brothel network.

The SJC ruling upheld a February decision by the clerk magistrate. Generally show cause hearings are held in private, but several media outlets argued that the hearings should be open due to high public interest and transparency.

Lawyers for 18 of the alleged customers appealed the initial ruling, arguing that their clients lives and reputations would be unduly harmed if their names became public, even if there was no probable cause to press charges.

But Justice Scott Kafker on Thursday rejected the argument, ruling that holding the hearings in private would have jeopardized the integrity of the court.

It would have “raised legitimate public concerns about potential favoritism and bias if such hearings were held behind closed doors,” Kafker wrote.

Still, the SJC decided in favor of the alleged clients on a second issue, ruling that law enforcement applications for criminal complaints will remain private until after the show hearings.

All three individuals accused of running the brothel networks pleaded guilty to felony charges and are awaiting sentencing.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.