Rentboy.com Owner Pleads Guilty to Promoting Prostitution

Rentboy.com Owner Pleads Guilty to Promoting Prostitution

BROOKLYN — The former owner of Rentboy.com pleaded guilty Friday to promoting prostitution.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Levy accepted Jeffrey Hurant's plea and that of parent company Easy Rent Systems Inc. to money laundering..

"I'm guilty because I agreed to accept payment with advertisers and promoted their exchange of sexual activity for a fee," Jeffrey Hurant, who was CEO of the company, said at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn this morning.

Hurant, as part of a plea deal, agreed not to appeal the case in exchange for a maximum two-year prison sentence.

If he appeals his sentence, he could face up to five years. He also could get three years of supervised release, a maximum fine of $290,000.

Easy Rent Boy Systems Inc. faces a five-year maximum probation, a $500,000 fine at minimum and up to twice its value at maximum for the guilty plea to money laundering. The company will not be allowed to appeal.

Hurant and Easy Rent Systems previously pleaded not guilty over the charges.  

Activist William Dobbs, who attended today's hearing, told XBIZ that "after 19 years of operating openly, Rentboy.com was raided and turned into a federal crime."

"The war on sexual civil liberties continues, thanks to the feds in Brooklyn and their boss, Attorney General Loretta Lynch," he said.  

In the indictment, prosecutors said that male escorts paid at least $59.95 per month and up to several hundred dollars to advertise on Rentboy.com, which generated more than $10 million from 2010 to 2015.

Before authorities shut the website and offices down, Rentboy.com reportedly lured about 500,000 unique visitors each day.

Hurant charged advertisers up to about $300 per ad, according to the indictment. Advertisers were encouraged to publish their penis size, build, indicate whether they had foreskin and whether they preferred to have safe sex or bareback sex.

The Rentboy.com domain recently changed hands after it was seized by the government. Today, the Rentboy.com site offers click-through links.

The case has had many critics who have accused the government of meddling in their personal sex lives.

Numerous media outlets also have blasted the government’s prosecution of Hurant.

In an editorial, the New York Times said prosecutors weren’t justified shutting down "a company that provided sex workers with a safer alternative to street walking or relying on pimps."

Hurant is due back in court on Feb. 2 to learn his fate at a sentencing hearing.

Pictured: Federal authorities outside of Rentboy.com's offices during raid several years ago

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Justices Alito, Thomas Invoke Victorian-Era Morality Law, Raising Censorship Concerns

Several national publications reported this week on widespread concern among Free Speech advocates after U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Scalia and Clarence Thomas repeatedly invoked during a hearing the infamous segregation-era law the Comstock Act, which was the cornerstone of U.S. censorship of sexual material from the 1870s until the 1970s.

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

Show More