Man Pleads Guilty to 'Pimping' Woman in Brookline; Police Work Credited

BROOKLINE, MA — The Norfolk County District Attorney on Tuesday credited the "sharp eyes" and "good memory" of Brookline Police officers for helping put behind bars a man who admitted to prostituting a woman, as well as assaulting her.

According to the Norfolk County DA, Robert Lewis, 52, of Boston, pleaded guilty at his Norfolk Superior Court Monday, earning a two-year prison sentence to be follow by a year of probation, on the indictment of deriving support from prostitution and conviction of assault and battery on the victim.

“Without the work of the Brookline Police Department, this case does not come together and the victim would not have been extricated from this violent, (exploitative) relationship,” Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey said in a statement that followed the sentencing.

Per his office, here's what happened:

On July 3, 2016, Brookline officers responded to a 911 call that had been placed then disconnected from an apartment on Park Street. They were met by a woman who said she had placed the call in the midst of an argument with her “boyfriend,” but that her boyfriend had left. Her statements at the time did not include accusations of criminality.

In early August, Brookline officers recognized the woman in photos posted in an advertisement on the website “Backpage,” which is known to law enforcement as a site used for advertising prostitution services. On August 4, Brookline officers secreted in locations on Park Street observed the woman outside the building, and then enter. They approached two men seen leaving the building and developed evidence supporting prostitution at that location.

When officers took the woman into custody and interviewed her, they learned that Lewis, whom she considered her “boyfriend” had paid for and published the “Backpage” advertisement, gave her the cell phone to answer when men called, and then took from her the money that men gave in exchange for sexual acts. She also revealed that, although she did not disclose it at the time, the July 3 call she placed to 911 followed the defendant punching her in the face.

The DA's office said Lewis admitted to both crimes in his plea on Monday.

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