A Princeton Township woman who was arrested for prostitution has been assigned a public defender in preparation for her pretrial date, scheduled for Dec. 15.
The woman, Meryl James, who operated a massage business in her Griggs Farm apartment, says she has never traded sexual favors for money. She also says that at least one of her massage clients is a University employee.
"I have a lot of eminent clients from Princeton and I really don't want to jeopardize their reputations by giving their names out, because it wouldn't be fair," James said. "One's a famous chiropractic neurologist, another works at Princeton University and is a famous researcher, but I'm not going to jeopardize their careers by having anybody think that they're associated with a prostitute."
Lieutenant Robert Buchanan of the Township Police Department said he could not confirm that a University professor's name appears in James' client book, saying only that the possibility "was brought up by someone in the [police] department."
After her arrest, according to Buchanan, James admitted "to satisfying [her clients] sexually as part of her business."
"She also admits to taking off her clothes while giving massages," he said.
Though James continues to maintain her innocence publicly, she also signaled her openness to the possibility of a plea agreement.
"I don't know if I'm going to accept what the prosecutor's office is going to give me, but I probably will," she said.
At times, however, James has voiced a less conciliatory stance.
"If I have to take the cops to court, I will," she said. "I don't deserve this."
James has characterized the Township's undercover sting of her massage business as entrapment. When undercover detective Gary Wasko, posing as a massage client, propositioned her, she said she told him that "I don't usually do this, and then he was making me feel guilty."
James said she believes that police received a tip from a mentally imbalanced neighbor.
"I'm friends with all my neighbors here except this one crazy person, and I still don't know who it was," she said.
In anticipation of the upcoming pretrial, James said she has begun to collect character testimonials from people who know her.
"I'm going to go armed with a big petition and lots of letters from my friends and clients," she said, adding that she hopes to return to her massage practice soon.
"As soon as my name is cleared and they say that I can go back to work, I will continue working," James said.
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