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Cambridge City Councilor Paul F. Toner will face a jury trial after a Cambridge district judge refused to dismiss criminal charges against him for patronizing a brothel network that operated in the city.

Toner was charged in March with sexual conduct for a fee, a misdemeanor that rarely carries jail time, after Cambridge police identified him as one of 34 men who were customers of an interstate prostitution ring that ran out of North Cambridge.

In November, Toner’s lawyer Timothy R. Flaherty filed a motion to dismiss the case, after repeated requests to the court to require more evidence from the prosecution. Judge David E. Frank — who has presided over all of the defendants’ cases — rejected the motion in December, leading to a hearing on Monday morning to review the status of the case.

At the hearing, Frank scheduled the next court date for Toner’s case as it proceeds to a jury trial, marking him as the only defendant who has attempted to fight the charges in court Each of the men charged, except for Toner, has accepted a pretrial probation agreement.

The pretrial probation terms include 24 hours of community service and $2,000 fee paid to one of two organizations selected by the court that focus on human trafficking prevention. All of the defendants, except for Toner, will avoid a conviction or admission to guilt by adhering to the terms, and have their cases dismissed upon completion.

Defendants must also complete a one-day module on the impact of prostitution during their nine-month probation period, along with being prohibited from contacting sex workers.

Among the 34 men charged are two Harvard affiliates: James C. Cusack, an oncologist and former Harvard Medical School professor, and Mitchell H. Rubenstein, an assistant professor of dermatology at HMS.

Though Toner was publicly named as a brothel client in March, several councilors were first informed of the potential criminal charge against him in Jan. 2024, when the Boston Globe emailed them, confirming Toner would be implicated in the case.

Five councilors received the email from The Globe, including Mayor E. Denise Simmons, who appointed Toner to a majority of chairships on the Council just four days after learning of the allegations. Days after Toner was named in court, Simmons quietly stripped him of his chairships.

Toner’s involvement in the brothel case caused a wave of backlash within local government, with a majority of his fellow councilors and two state representatives calling for his resignation from the Council. After months of criticism, Toner announced that he would not run for reelection.

His decision opened up at least one seat on the Council for a challenger in the election, and two were elected to serve in the Sullivan Chamber — Flaherty, and Ayah Al-Zubi ’23. The new slate of councilors will take office on Jan. 1.

Toner is next set to appear in court on Jan. 27 for discovery compliance and jury selection.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Claire A. Michal can be reached at [email protected].