Charges Dropped Against Man Accused of Operating a Brothel

Shane Taylor said he’s spent the last several months trying to live down shame and restore his smeared name after he was arrested andout of his upper-middle class home in Manassas.   

Taylor was charged with pandering and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, but prosecutors dropped those charges months after his November 2010 arrest by Manassas City Police, Prince William County District Court documents show.

Taylor said it was a case of mistaken intentions—he was not running a brothel, but hosting swinger parties, Taylor said.

There were never prostitutes hanging around his house and no men ever approached him about where to find them, Taylor said this week while standing on the porch of his home overlooking a manicured lawn.

Police made him out to be a "pimp," Taylor said.

“It was like I had a Cadillac with Zebra interior and spinners" on the tires, Taylor said.

He just wants people to know he’s not those things, Taylor added.  

 Taylor said his neighbors that used to speak to him now give him the "stink eye."

At the time of his arrest, some of his neighbors told TV news media outlets that the Taylors never caused any trouble in the neighborhood, but neighbors said they did notice there were frequently visitors, Taylor said.

“They said they just thought we were popular,” he said.

The couple hosted swinger parties for about two years, but no longer do so, he added.

“It was a party, you know, we had food and drink,” Taylor said.

Guests would donate money to help with the costs and leave it in envelopes with their email addresses, so they’d know who to thank, Taylor said.

 At the time of his arrest, police said Taylor's wife called the police and told them Taylor was operating a brothel, but Taylor said someone called the police impersonating his wife and lied.

 Taylor said he uses Google to search his name and finds it frustrating that the charges still pop up.

 As part of his mission to clear his name, he’s contacted the media outlets who originally reported his arrest and told them his charges are now dismissed.

 He remains upset because police told the media he had surveillance equipment at his house as if he was a drug dealer, Taylor said.

He and his wife have the equipment for protection because their jobs take them away from home,  he said.