Salon Owner Appears in Court

Just over a month after his arrest for allegedly selling sex services at his Harvard Square business, About Hair proprietor Duncan W. Purdy faced a pretrial hearing Thursday in Cambridge District Court, in which the prosecutor asked to move Purdy’s case to Superior Court.

Dressed in a green suit with two earrings adorning his left ear, Purdy, 52, stood before Judge George Sprague last week. Purdy was arrested at his Arrow Street hair salon on Oct. 7.

About Hair is still in operation, and Purdy was seen tending the cashier’s desk after the hearing. Purdy’s lawyer, Fransisco J. Fernandez, said that the masseuses had not been asked back to work.

Purdy moved into the space on Arrow Street in 1990 and has since subdivided the property to include an art museum that features his own paintings as well as nude photography.

Purdy began to offer massages in 1996 after an employee volunteered to perform the service. Before long, Purdy started intensively studying and training employees in massage techniques, and he eventually hired new employees specifically as masseuses.

But two months ago, complaints against About Hair were filed with the Cambridge Police Department (CPD), according to CPD spokesman Frank Pasquarello.

Pasquarello would not elaborate on the nature of the complaints because the investigation is still underway.

CPD decided to go undercover at About Hair this fall in order to confirm allegations made against the business.

In late September, according to a police report, Detective Louis Cherubino Jr. received a massage at About Hair that included genital stimulation. According to the CPD report filed a week later, Cherubino had told Purdy that he was in a hurry.

“Purdy stated, ‘you want the 15-minute then for $60.00.’ Purdy then asked Detective Cherubino if he desired any ‘extras’ and referred to topless for $25.00 additional or nude for $50.00 additional,” the police report said.

Purdy then took Cherubino to the massage room and introduced him to a woman called Lydia, the report stated.

Cherubino paid Purdy three tracked $20 bills, and followed Lydia into the room, which was “illuminated by a lone red light bulb,” according to the report.

Services referred to as “doctor,” “foot fetish,” “Russian ending,” and “pop the cork” were also offered to Cherubino.

The report describes “Russian ending” as “when you have a satisfactory ending of the session between the women [sic] breast.” The CPD report stated that “pop the cork” meant “anal.”

An officer from the Somerville Police Department received similar treatment when he went undercover to the salon.

If convicted, Purdy’s four charges carry a maximum sentence of five years each.

At Thursday’s hearing on two of the charges, a Middlesex assistant district attorney (DA) requested that the case be heard in front of a grand jury to determine if it will remain in the Cambridge District Court or if it will move to the Middlesex Superior Court.

The DA requested a move to superior court because the district court only handles crimes that carry lesser sentences.

Purdy deferred all questions to his attorney Fernandez, who would not comment on the substance of the defense strategy.

Fernandez said that he was not surprised by the DA’s request to move the case to a higher court.

“It’s a routine thing,” he said.

Fernandez said it was too early to tell if the DA would offer a plea bargain, or if Purdy would accept it. Purdy is due back in court in front of a grand jury on December 7.

-Staff Writer Sarah E.F. Milov can be reached at milov@fas.harvard.edu.