BEDFORD, CT — A trial date could be set for the case surrounding the dominatrix accused of running a sex business when she returns to Town Court next week, officials said last night.
The woman, Sandra Chemero, 46, appeared briefly in court Thursday, answering no questions and then leaving in a hurry with her attorney, George Galgano Jr., in his blue Bentley sports car.
At that moment, a Chemero supporter, who would only identify herself as "Madame X," came bursting out of the Town Hall to express her outrage at what she considers the persecution of prostitutes.
"I don't believe she did anything wrong," said the woman, who admitted she was ordered to do 500 hours of community service when she was charged with similar crimes 10 years ago. "It's a witch hunt. She wasn't running a brothel, she was one person."
Madame X said she attends each of Chemero's court hearings to help call for "a change in the law."
"The government does not belong in our bedrooms," she said.
In last night's court session, Town Justice Kevin J. Quaranta said that since Galgano and prosectors had still not resolved issues concerning "open file discovery," he wanted to give them one more week to finish. He said he expected them back on April 26, at which time a tentative trial date for Chemero's case could be set.
"Discovery" is a legal term that refers to the exchange of information between opposing attorneys about facts and documents.
Chemero was arrested in February after police said she offered an undercover officer sex for $275 an hour.
The sting came after authorities received a tip last year asserting that Chemero was behind a Web site that advertised dominatrix services at a white farmhouse in Bedford Hills.
The building at 235 Haines Road is owned by a neighboring Orthodox Jewish seminary, whose owners said they rented it without knowing what went on there.
Chemero pleaded not guilty last month to misdemeanor prostitution and weapons charges. The latter charge involves a stun gun police said they seized from the house.
In addition, the town charged Chemero with violating a code against operating a business in a residential district.
Recently, she set up a Web site soliciting donations to help pay her legal fees and other expenses. The site asks for the aid in behalf of "Bedford Hills Dominatrix Sandra Chemero of the Sovereign Estate."
