Judge Rules Sex Worker Could Use Drugs to Cope With Her Life Circumstances

An Australian sex worker claimed she needed "large amounts" of drugs to cope with the trauma accompanying her line of work, and a sympathetic judge agreed, suspending her drug supply charges, the New York Post reports.

Police approached 29-year-old Cherie Mollica and a friend in a parked car in March 2016, where a search of her bag revealed a syringe, a large stained glass bottle, a bag of white crystals and a wallet carrying nearly $6,250 in cash.

The crystals were found to be methamphetamine and the bottle contained almost 32 fluid ounces of date rape drug GBL.

Upon her arrest, Mollica admitted the drugs and money were hers, but denied that she was distributing the substances. Instead, she said she only supplied to her friend and used the rest to cope with her job in the sex industry.

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Mollica told the court she earned a large amount of cash from her sex work, but that she consumed "a large amount of drugs" to keep up with the lifestyle. During another sex worker's testimony, she said Mollica could earn up to $5,500 a week for her services.

Judge Anthony Garling and police found the evidence obtained in Mollica's car, coupled with some text messages on her phone, to be consistent with that of a drug dealer.

Still, Garling said her friend's testimony describing that the money from sex work was a believable explanation and that there was not enough substantial evidence to convict her of supplying drugs.

He continued that in Mollica's work — which is legal in some states of Australia — it was "not unreasonable to suggest she needed drugs to get on with her life."

Since the incident, the judge considered that Mollica has voluntarily entered a rehab facility and claimed she was drug-free. She also allegedly quit her work as a sex worker and entered a job in sales.

With this in mind, Garling suspended the charge of supplying GBL. He sentenced Mollica to two years in jail, but placed her on "good behavior bond" for two years. On the charge of possession of meth, she was fined $400.

"Don't touch drugs of any type for any reason," Garling warned. "Don't think you have had a slap on the hand. It's up to you to stay out of court."

Photo credit: Twitter / @cheriemollica