back to article 'Web brothel' CEO, staff cuffed on prostitution rap – clue: the website is called Rentboy.com

The New York City offices of Rentboy.com were raided by US federal agents on Tuesday – and several staff arrested including the chief exec. The website claims to be the world's largest online directory of male escorts. In an affidavit [NSFW PDF] filed in a Brooklyn court ahead of the swoop, US Department of Homeland Security …

  1. Mark 85
    Devil

    18 years to file charges?

    It sort of makes you wonder if maybe someone high up who's no longer there blocked this or maybe that the investigators had to keep investigating <nudge nudge wink wink> for that long.

    1. ItsNotMe
      Facepalm

      Re: 18 years to file charges?

      Well it's not like they waited two decades to file the charges. Come on now...give them a break. They just wanted to make sure it was a thorough investigation...right?

  2. Frumious Bandersnatch

    a simple solution to illegal prostitution

    Make it legal.

    1. Paul Crawford Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

      Wait! How can a politician or church leader possibly allow consenting adults to indulge in perfectly legal activities for money?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

        "Wait! How can a politician or church leader possibly allow consenting adults to indulge in perfectly legal activities for money?"

        Wait! How can a politician or church leader possibly allow consenting adults to indulge in perfectly legal activities for money?

        FTFY

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

          Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

          "Wait! How can a politician or church leader possibly allow consenting adults to indulge in perfectly legal activities for money?"

          Wait! How can a politician or church leader possibly allow consenting adults to indulge in perfectly legal activities for money?

          No, the money aspect is important. You can tax that, which is in turn an extra incentive to legalise it, and bringing it above board, so to speak, is also a good way to make it all a bit healthier and safer.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

            "No, the money aspect is important."

            It seems that many politicians are in a dichotomy over many things people like to do. They want to get more taxes - but they also promote religious objections to people enjoying themselves in some ways that are relatively harmless to society in general.

            The second tends to override the first - to the extent that large sums of public money are effectively wasted on banning, enforcing, and prosecutions. Some of this goes as funding to groups with a vested interest in there being such bans. The politicians get an electioneering kick-back on this by making out they are only interested in protecting the childrenpublic.

            1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

              Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

              I think it's more an indication of the frankly bizarre attitude a lot of people (American mainly, but some here as well) have to life. They are happy to see (or use) guns and things that end life, but show (or offer them) something that has to do with creating life, and they object..

              Think about it. Hollywood turns out endless TV shows and films where they show people being killed in all sorts of ways, and they are happy to show the weapons that kill the people, but on the few occasions someone has dared show a female nipple, the country has gone into uproar. I remember when Janet Jackson showed a (mostly covered) nipple during the Superbowl. The country was in uproar and the republicans (rather ironically bearing in mind they broadly support guns and my above statement) asked questions in Congress about it.

              Don't get me wrong. I like action movies and TV shows, and I like to watch s**t get blown up, but I generally don't understand the attitude that it's OK to almost worship acts that end life, but express shock and horror at an act that (let's face it) has a primary purpose of creating life.

    2. Trigonoceps occipitalis

      Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

      In the UK prostitution is legal. It is the peripheral activities that are illegal (kerb crawling, living off immoral earnings, soliciting, running a brothel etc).

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: a simple solution to illegal prostitution

        It is the peripheral activities that are illegal

        Such as selling equipment and, er, "appliances"? :)

  3. David Roberts
    Joke

    Did someone finally notice......

    ....that her partner advertised on that site?

    [Actually looks more like opportunistic career promotion.]

    1. roytrubshaw
      Big Brother

      Re: Did someone finally notice......

      "[Actually looks more like opportunistic career promotion.]"

      More like empire building.

      Why is Homeland Security investigating male prostitution? Isn't counter-terrorism enough for them?

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        Re: Did someone finally notice......

        "Why is Homeland Security investigating male prostitution? Isn't counter-terrorism enough for them?"

        Probably they found there are virtually no terrorists to arrest, but plenty of folk whoring themselves shamelessly to America's serious disadvantage.

        But they were told they could not arrest congress, so had to make do with stitching up a rent-boy site instead.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Did someone finally notice......

        Why is Homeland Security investigating male prostitution? Isn't counter-terrorism enough for them?

        I imagine it's common practise for them to run investigations on those who associate with high-ranking Republican senators.

  4. sandman

    Purely Business

    You have to wait for an illegal activity to make decent profits before it's worth fining them and closing them down.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Times Square

    This seems to chime with the recent statement about the Mayor of New York suggesting tearing up the pedestrian areas of Times Square. That is his suggested last resort if prosecutions are not possible to stop topless women posing for pictures with tourists.

    NSFW?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/nyregion/topless-in-times-square-a-legal-view.html

  6. TheProf
    Black Helicopters

    Iron Man

    "US Department of Homeland Security special agent Susan Ruiz "

    Erm, isn't their job "protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and natural disasters." wiki

    They'll have Marvel: Agents of Shield handing out parking tickets next.

    1. Velv
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Iron Man

      Agent Maria Hill can give me a ticket anytime :p

  7. Graham Marsden
    Facepalm

    Based on this...

    ... there are two options:

    1) They've won the War Against Terror

    or:

    2) Someone is desperately trying to draw attention away from the Ashley Madison hack.

    Meanwhile, of course, all those sites with adults offering other services, such as actors, musicians, accountants, plumbers or even lawyers go on about their business because it's only SEX which causes the Yanks a problem.

    "I'm just a musical prostitute, darling!" - Freddie Mercury.

  8. Rick Brasche

    it's not prostitution! it's an app!

    it's an app, that connects people with a "ride" with people who want to pay to "ride". At least that's the excuse Uber uses, along with radio slots telling you that "you can make big money on your own schedule" by working for them. Their defense that they're "not a taxi company" should be applied by any decent lawyer to protect any sort of "app" that connects any sort of "legal when given freely" service with anyone willing to pay for it.

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