DANVERS — Delays in the case against a woman charged with trying to turn a 13-year-old girl into a prostitute last June nearly led to her release without bail yesterday.
Maria Trinidad, 33, was living at the Motel 6 on Route 1 in Danvers when she was arrested in August on charges of deriving support from prostitution and inducing a minor into prostitution.
Prosecutors allege that she offered to let a 13-year-old runaway stay with her in the room, but that she was planning to send her out as a prostitute. Three would-be "johns" realized how young she was and came up with a plan to help her escape by "hiring" her.
But since Trinidad's arraignment, a probable-cause hearing has been scheduled and then canceled four times at the request of the prosecution.
The Essex County district attorney's office is planning to seek a grand jury indictment of Trinidad instead but hasn't yet presented the case to a grand jury.
Those delays, argued Trinidad's lawyer, are a violation of her due process rights, as she continues to remain in custody.
In Massachusetts, felony cases can move from a district to a superior court through a probable-cause hearing before a judge or by a grand jury indictment. Prosecutors prefer to use the grand jury process in most cases.
The delays have already led one judge to reduce her bail from the original $75,000 to $15,000. Then, after the third date was postponed, Judge Robert Cornetta ordered that if prosecutors weren't ready to go forward with a hearing yesterday, Trinidad would be released on personal recognizance.
Prosecutor Melissa Woodard asked Judge Richard Mori not to enforce that order, saying she needs just one more week to present Trinidad's case to the grand jury, citing administrative delays.
But defense lawyer Sierra Rosen argued that the delays may actually be the result of witness problems for the prosecution, and that any administrative delays were foreseeable.
"Judge Cornetta was quite clear," Rosen argued. "She is to be indicted by the next date or she would be released on personal (recognizance). I would ask the court to honor the order."
Woodard argued that the delays were beyond her control and said she believes that Trinidad, who was homeless and living at the motel on a publicly funded housing voucher, would disappear if not held.
Mori said he agreed.
"I think the chances of (Trinidad) coming to court on her own are slim to none," the judge said.
"That's just not true," Rosen protested, pointing to a record that includes no defaults on court appearances since 2001.
That still didn't convince Mori, who went along with the prosecutor's request for one more delay.
Trinidad was not happy about the ruling.
"Why can't they let me go?" she wailed. "They said they (were) going to let me go. Why can't they let me go?"
A status hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.
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