It’s not a crime to watch.
The beautiful accused accomplice of alleged “Hockey Mom Madam” Anna Gristina wants a Manhattan judge to dismiss her promoting prostitution case — because the undercover cop never laid a hand on the two naked ladies he paid for.
“Paying two individuals to watch them engage in sexual activity — which is what is alleged here — is simply not prostitution,” defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb argued in court papers filed yesterday for his knockout client, Jaynie Mae Baker.
“The women who the undercover officer videotaped were essentially performers — actors — who were paid by the undercover officer to perform for him. This is protected conduct and speech,” Gottlieb argued.
Baker and Gristina are each fighting a single count of promoting prostitution for allegedly sitting at a restaurant with a prospective John last July and booking him for a $2,000 “date” with a pair of escorts at their Upper East Side brothel — a seedy one-bedroom at 304 East 78th Street.
The John — who would turn out to be a cop — is recorded telling the alleged madams that he is “looking for a little adventure,” and to “please corrupt me,” according to the filing.
But not once do the parties specifically mention sex for money, Baker’s filing says of the recordings, which are still being kept secret.
The recordings capture “the undercover officer meeting two other women at an apartment who eventually appear to engage in sexual contact with each other, but not with the undercover officer, which is confirmed by the video itself,” Baker’s filing said.
“The undercover officer apparently remains fully clothed and merely observed the two women perform for him,” Baker argued.
The filing goes on to cite supporting case law in which judges have defined prostitution as specifically “A paying B for sexual activity to be performed on A,” and not as charging a fee merely to provide a building space for sexual activity or to let someone watch a sex performance.
Porn directors pay their actors; strip-club proprietors pay their performers — neither is promoting prostitution, Baker argued in the filing.
Baker and Gristina are due back in court August 16.
Prosecutors say they ran a multimillion-dollar escort service with a high profile roster of Johns and help from law enforcement.