After all, if you had a fetish a few decades ago, you couldn’t just go to your favorite search engine and find videos, image galleries, or forums to discuss your fetish. The reason they seem to be rising in popularity isn’t because they’re new, it’s because the internet gives us so many more opportunities to explore. The truth is, fetishes are extremely common because they’re a natural part of sexuality. You might think that your boss is as square as can be, but his obsession might be foot jobs. You might think that the housewife next door is as straight laced as it gets, but she might get off on pegging her submissive husband. They’re far more common than most people realize. Fetishes and kinks might seem like they’re on the rise, but the truth is, they’ve always been around. We want something more, something better, something kinkier. Phakphum, left, is questioned by police at a resort in Nakhon Ratchasima's Sikhiu district for allegedly pimping five schoolboys to male customers.The internet is overflowing with porn, and who doesn’t love porn? But for some of us the regular humdrum of seeing a couple of strangers bang just isn’t where it’s at. NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A gay man has been arrested at a resort in Sikhiu district for allegedly procuring five 14-year-old schoolboys to provide sex services for male customers. Identified only as "Phakphum", he was taken into custody by police led by Pol Col Jiradet Phrasawang, deputy chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking Suppression Division, on Thursday evening.įive schoolboys, all aged 14 years, were also taken into protective custody.ĭuring interrogation, Mr Phakphum allegedly admitted he had persuaded the boys to provide sex services for male customers for money. Customers paid the boys 2,000 baht a time. The suspect said he spent some of the money buying sex from boys. He admitted he was infected with HIV and was being treated, police said. Mr Phakphum will face human trafficking charges, police said. Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang The five boys were now back in the care of their parents.Nobody is going to defend lewd conduct, but there is a qualitative difference between sexual predators and people who engage in boorish behavior. Under state law, people who are convicted of indecent exposure must register as sex offenders and face possible jail time. Some have lost their jobs or committed suicide. “Nobody is going to defend lewd conduct, but there is a qualitative difference between sexual predators and people who engage in boorish behavior,” said Los Angeles County Assessor Jeffrey Prang, who is gay and a former special assistant in the Sheriff’s Department who worked with its LGBT advisory council. “Criminalizing them isn’t really justice.
You just want them to stop.”Ĭourts also have raised questions about the stings, invalidating a number of prosecutions in various parts of the state. In some cases, judges found no crime had occurred because the undercover officer conveyed sexual interest to the target and no one else was present to be offended by the lewd conduct.
Last month, a Los Angeles County judge threw out the charges in one case stemming from Long Beach’s 2014 operation, saying police were discriminating against gay men.
Many law enforcement agencies have stopped in response to lawsuits or after political backlash. The Times contacted police officials in San Jose, Anaheim, Glendale, San Francisco, Bakersfield, Beverly Hills and Laguna Beach, among other agencies. Representatives for each said their departments had not used such undercover stings in years. These officials said they came to view the stings as ineffective or unnecessary after noticing a sharp drop-off in complaints about public sex during an age when men can easily find sexual partners through the Internet and dating apps such as Grindr. Some cities have found alternative ways to tackle the problem of cruising - the act of searching for anonymous public sex. Departments will now post uniformed officers near cruising hotspots or improve lighting and trim trees and bushes in areas known for public sex. “Bottom line is, there were much better things that the vice. “We really refocused our efforts on those other crimes where we have a victim.” Merrill Ladenheim, who heads the agency’s human trafficking task force.īureau should have been engaged in, namely sex trafficking and sexual exploitation,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Cmdr. LAPD officials say they have made a point of carrying out undercover operations less frequently in recent years. In 2007, the agency revamped its lewd conduct policy to tell officers that stings should be used only “as a last resort.”īut when alternative tactics fail, the department has no choice but to deploy decoy officers, said Capt.