BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Chittenden County State's Attorney Mark Keller is wrestling with the question of whether to release the names of men who mayhave patronized an alleged prostitution ring.
Police arrested Glenn Ward, 41, of Colchester, Friday night and charged him with operating the ring under the guise of an escort service.
He has pleaded innocent and been freed on bail.
Four women were also cited into court on prostitution charges, and police seized a list of more than 20 clients, some said to be well-known in the Burlington area.
Keller said Tuesday the presence of a name on the list does not necessarily mean that person was guilty of purchasing sex from a prostitute.
But he added he may bring charges against men identified by prostitutes as customers.
Keller said he received two telephone calls on the issue. One was from a priest urging him to protect the innocent by not divulging the names. He said he believed the priest was calling on behalf of a man whose name was on the list.
The other call came from a feminist leader who said since the alleged prostitutes' names were made public, their customers should also.
State police Cpl. Nicholas Ruggiero, meanwhile, left little doubt about his office's plans.
'We are going to prosecute as many people as we can if we can prove they were paying for sexual services,' he said.
