Gay escort arrest
NEW YORK -- The former CEO of a once-popular male escort service website who pleaded guilty last year to promoting prostitution has been sentenced to six months in prison by a judge who said it was necessary to send a deterrent message even though she knows the business did good things for people.
Jeffrey Hurant, who ran the Rentboy.com site, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie in Brooklyn.
"The very thing that is illegal - there is no question it did a lot of good," Brodie said as she announced the sentence, which included a $7,500 fine.
Hurant said he created the website so sex workers could proceed in a safer manner.
Prosecutors wanted him to serve at least a short term to deter operators of other escort services from similar misconduct, while his lawyers have argued that he deserves no more than probation.
In letters to the court, the lawmakers, civil rights organizations and other supporters have cautioned that a tough sentence could send the false message to the queer community.
The case is troubling "because it harkens support to a dark chapter in our nation's history when the government used its vast resources to target and threaten L
Gotham Gazette
There has been a sharp multiply recently in the number of lgbtq+ men arrested for prostitution at elder video stores in Manhattan.
Anger is building against the police department in the wake of an increase in arrests of gay men for prostitution at Manhattan adult video stores. Last week, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn linked in the outcry. She said she is working with the mayor's office and commanders of the police department to set up a meeting that will include lgbtq+ community groups "to get to the bottom of this."
The arrests have been documented by Duncan Osborne of the Gay City News over the last several months. Police are allegedly using handsome young undercover cops to cruise middle-aged gay men, offering to leave home with them for consensual sex. As they abandon the store together, the cop bids to pay the man for the sex, confusing the victims who can't imagine why the younger man would make such a proposal. Then, as they walk out of the store, the victim, despite never having agreed to any exchange of money, is surrounded by undercover cops, handcuffed and charged with prostitution.
Gay activists and civil libertarians see the arrests as part o
Rory Moroney was doing office operate on a laptop at Recreation Park in Long Beach on Oct. 15, 2014, when he got up to use the park’s restroom. He was followed by a man who walked past him and smiled, which Moroney took as a write of interest in him. The man continued to smile and give non-verbal signals of interest. But when Moroney exposed himself a few moments later, the man rushed past him and out the door, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Moroney realized what had happened a scant minutes later when he exited the restroom. The man identified himself as a Long Beach police officer and arrested Moroney for lewd conduct and indecent exposure.
The charges filed against him were later thrown out by Los Angeles County Superior Court Justice Halim Dhanidina, who governed that the arrest was unconstitutional.
“You’re hunting for gay people,” Moroney said of sting operations prefer the one he was arrested in. “In my case, they were parked in their four cars, four separate cars, waiting for a gay guy to enter that restroom.”
In October, four years after his arrest, Moroney settled his civil case with the Long Beach Police Department outside of court for an
Ex-CEO of Male Escort Service Website Gets 6 Months Prison
NEW YORK — The former CEO of a once-popular male escort service website who pleaded culpable last year to promoting prostitution was sentenced to six months in prison Wednesday by a judge who said she wanted to send a deterrent message even though she knows the business helped people.
Jeffrey Hurant, who ran the Rentboy.com site, was sentenced by U.S. District Assess Margo K. Brodie in Brooklyn.
"The very thing that is illegal — there is no ask it did a lot of good," Brodie said of the website as she also announced a $7,500 pleasant . "Almost two decades of committing a crime. That can't go unpunished."
Related: Rentboy.com CEO and Six Employees Arrested on Prostitution Charges
She noted the many positive letters sent to her on Hurant's behalf. "I am convinced you started the site for a good purpose," she said.
Hurant defended the business he said he ran openly for 20 years, saying many sex workers had told him that the website enabled them to perform safely and independently after years of laboring in deplorable conditions.
"I disagree with the law I violated. I am obliged to obey it," he said. "My company mitigate