November 23–27 Toronto Six men […]

Graph

When

1981-11-23 – 1981-11-27

Description

November 23–27 Toronto Six men charged with being keepers of the Richmond Street Health Emporium pleaded not guilty before Provincial Court Judge F.J. McMahon. Testimony from undercover policemen during the trial revealed the existence of "Operation Soap," a large-scale police investigation into "criminal activity in the gay community." Trials of men arrested on bawdy house offences continued through December 1981, and later. One after the other, the alleged found-ins and keepers of common bawdy houses entered not-guilty pleas. In one trial, on December 11, 1981, Provincial Court Judge C.H. Paris asked Crown Attorney Stan Berger to consider dropping charges against found-ins from the February 5 bath raids, as the cases relating to not-guilty pleas were beginning to clog the courts. On January 11, 1982, Brian Rhodes, the former manager of the Richmond Street Health Emporium, pleaded guilty to being a keeper of a common bawdy house. His plea was linked to a plea bargaining deal, and charges against the five other men charged as keepers were dropped. On March 4, 1982, Provincial Court Judge McMahon sentenced Rhodes to a fine of $2,000 or six months in jail.

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August 31 Toronto The Crown withdrew […]February 5 Toronto Almost 200 police […]

All Places

Richmond Street Health Emporium Toronto

All People

Stan Berger Brian Rhodes C.H. Paris F.J. McMahon

All Organizations

Government of Canada Provincial Court of Ontario / Ontario Court of Justice

All Citations

Kirk Makin, "Bathhouse Manager Fined for Keeping Bawdy House," Globe and Mail, metro ed., 5 March 1982, p. 5.Philip Fotheringham, "December 11: Notes from a Day with the Bath-raid Trials," Body Politic, no. 80 (1982), p. 10 Philip Fotheringham, "At Trial: Clogged Courts, Bargained Pleas," Body Politic, no. 81 (1982), p. 11 Chris Bearchell (with Dennis Findlay, Philip Fotheringham, and Elan Rosenquist), "Judge Suggests Dropping Charges as Not Guilty Pleas Clog Courts: Bawdy Politics," Body Politic, no. 80 (1982), pp. 10–11 "Bath House Boss Admits He's Guilty: Club Raided in February," Toronto Sun, 12 January 1981, p. 16 "$2,000 Fine for Bathhouse Boss," Toronto Sun, 5 March 1982, p. 32

Graph Legend

Stan Berger

Names

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