Prostitution: A sad state of affairs

You know, the array of bizarre prostitution stories in the news these days is really running the gamut. Grabbing headlines today is the story of the sex abuse educator at Fort Hood who turns out to be running a prostitution ring on the side. Essentially, he's doing what he's paid to prevent others from doing:

The Army is investigating Sgt. 1st Class Gregory McQueen, a sexual abuse educator at Fort Hood in Texas, for allegedly running a small-time prostitution ring and for the sexual assault of another soldier, senior military officials have confirmed.

....

Investigators believe that McQueen, 37, persuaded a female private first class to become a prostitute who sold sex to other servicemembers, according to a senior defense official and Capitol Hill staffer who have been briefed on the investigation.

I lived and worked in Temple for close to a decade, and visited Fort Hood many times, so this hits a little close to home. If the allegations are proven true, then this guy is the worst kind of predator, preying on those vulnerable victims he's supposed to be protecting. I have no sympathy for people like that.

The other story making the rounds takes the cake for oddness. A prostitution ring was broken up at a New Jersey retirement home, with police arresting the ringleader--a 75-year-old man.

The suspects, 75-year-old James Parham and his neighbor and assumed accomplice, 66-year-old Cheryl Chaney, have been accused of allowing others to use crack in their apartments and have been charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a nuisance. Chaney had an additional penalty for possessing crack cocaine.

....

Parham’s nuisance charge stems from encouraging and permitting prostitution on the premises. Authorities state Parham admitted to running a prostitution ring out of the complex, employing some of the elderly residents along with a few younger women with addiction problems from the neighborhood as sex workers, according to NBC 4 New York News.

It's almost laughable, the very idea of geriatric prostitution, until you look further and realize many of the residents were low income and disabled, essentially prisoners in their homes because of the rampant illegal activity and dangerous characters haunting their building because of this vice ring. Crack and prostitution does not equal a safe environment for anyone. It's certainly not anything like the Chicken Ranch, which offered a measure of safety for the women who ended up working there.

It will be interesting to see if the investigations in these cases result in charges against any of the men who actually paid for sex. Dollars to donuts says they don't, because that's how these cases usually go.

Now Playing: Dick Dale and the Del-Tones King of the Surf Guitar: The Best of Dick Dale
Chicken Ranch Central