Prostitution charges dropped against woman after 7 On Your Side Investigation

PATERSON, New Jersey (WABC) -- The prostitution charges against a Florida woman has been dropped following a 7 On Your Side Investigation that revealed her sister had used her name when stopped by Paterson police.

Samantha Humienny was picked up by officers last November on a prostitution warrant, but she told police she was Jaclyn Humienny, her sister.

That's when Jaclyn started getting notices at her Florida home from Paterson Municipal Court, warning her that she had outstanding prostitution fines of $533 and that failure to pay would result in a warrant for her arrest.

Jaclyn tried repeatedly to get the mix up cleared with police and the court, but she got nowhere.

She was even told she would have to appear in person in Paterson court to present evidence. That's when she turned to 7 On Your Side Investigates, which broke Jaclyn's story on Monday.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Paterson Municipal Court dismissed the case. A statement from the court says, "An expungement of the charges against Jaclyn Humienny will be expedited and related fees will be waived."

Jaclyn's mother says they could not get the court to budge until 7 On Your Side Investigates got involved.

Cindy Humienny says she still blames Paterson police for failing to get proper identification from Samantha when they picked her up last November.

She says a simple fingerprint check would have shown she had several prior arrests and even served time in jail for criminal contempt related to a robbery.

Jaclyn, a college student studying to become a teacher, was also worried the prostitution charge tied to her name would have prevented her from getting a job at a school.

The Humienney's are glad the ordeal is over, but they wonder how many other people might have charges against them because of illegal use of aliases and police failure to make the proper checks.

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