Prostitution charge dismissed

A prostitution charge was dismissed Thursday against a Sydney man prior to the start of his scheduled provincial court trial.

David Wayne Ley, 68, of Sydney, was among 27 men charged in 2015 with communicating for the purpose of obtaining sex.

Prosecutor Christa MacKinnon told the court the Crown was dismissing the charge. Such dismissals mean the Crown had no reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution.

The charge stems from an undercover operation led by Cape Breton Regional Police into prostitution activity in downtown Sydney.

Ley is now the fourth person to have his charge dismissed while three others were found not guilty. Other accused pleaded guilty and were issued $500 fines.

Ley’s defence lawyer TJ McKeough said Thursday his client was parked on Charlotte Street when approached by an undercover officer. It was agreed, he said, that $30 would be paid in exchange for oral sex.

As was the practice throughout the 10-day investigation, Ley was instructed to meet the woman in a nearby downtown parking lot.

Ley never pulled into the parking lot but was arrested nearby and told police he never planned on going through with the arrangement and was “just playing around and basically curious.”

“Between that and not being in the right location there was no realistic prospect of conviction,” said McKeough, adding there was no proof of Ley’s intention to follow through with the agreed sex act.