Yet another exposé of the "virtual red light district." The women who have been targeted by Elms are not "21st century streetwalkers", nor are they harbingers of "Whoring 2.0" — they are real women, with real careers, who have really been sexually harassed. The reason so few want to come forward, says activist and working girl Karly Kirschner, is that "these women have had a traumatic experience, probably are feeling used and manipulated and humiliated. They're in a state of shock like any other survivor of assault." Where some see a story about The Internet Gone Wild, escorts see business as usual in an industry where few take on-the-job harassment seriously.

Quotes from clients who talk as big a game to reporters as they do to escorts. The prospect of getting famous for sinking Dave Elms, a big figure in the sex-for-pay world, motivates obsessive clients like Dave in Phoenix, who has been complaining about Elms for years on a private email list meant for his favorite escorts only. But what do escorts have to gain from indulging a client's Nancy Drew fantasies of getting them to play girl detective? In a June 8 email leaked to Valleywag, Dave in Phoenix wrote:

We still need folks to talk to the reporter "on the record" the story is being delayed and reporter says will be bigger than we even know but he can't go into details. A major problem for the part of the story on extortion of gals to provide him sex or that being his demand is few credible companions are willing to come forward on the record even with names protected. He has many providers very scared of him, even in Phoenix. Reporter is getting impression that most companions are a bit "flaky" and doesn't know what to believe.

Flaky, or realistic? One escort explained that she wouldn't give an interview to the Times because "there would be no benefit for any provider to get involved. Dave Elms is in no way concerned with shame. He is married. He doesn't care what shame it brings to his family. He is only concerned with keeping his own ass out of prison." As Kirschner put it, "No court in the U.S. is going to hold Elms accountable for embezzling free sex from a bunch of criminal whores."

More avoidable outings by the Times. Kirschner raised concerns about the paper's ability to maintain confidentiality. At the peak of Spitzergate, the Times ran a story that contained enough identifying information on two of the sex workers interviewed that their family members and clients discovered them. Getting outed is the worst possible outcome of a Times story. The best is a crackdown on sites like TheEroticReview.com. Either way, the escorts risk losing their livelihood.

TheEroticReview.com changed the rules in the business of online escorting. It capitalized on the critical mass of prostitutes who, due to Web-based advertising, could go truly freelance and run their own business, without management. With TER, Elms has jockeyed to take the abusive middleman's place.

It's a difficult story, not nearly as sexy as Eliot Spitzer's high-class hotel hookups. Gold star to the Times for chasing it at all. Could the lack of a salacious hook be part of the problem? This may be a story best written by those no longer dazzled by the business, like the ladies in it — who are long used to dealing with guys who talk a good game but, in the end, just want a piece of them.

(Photo via NYT)

Independent traveling escort Ashley is one of the thousands of providers whose services have been reviewed on TheEroticReview. She had a run-in with Elms two months ago, when she asked that he change her name on the website to throw off a stalker. Elms took this opportunity to make his own pitch: "He said I'd make more money if I flew to Los Angeles," says Ashley. "He said I should come work out of the Sheraton LAX, and then come and see him at his home." She says Elms continued to call her every day for a week, insisting he knew how to run her business best — and that meant sleeping with him. She declined, and later found her reviews removed from TER.

Last week, after she heard that Elms had been jailed, she attempted to post a warning to escorts and clients on the board, but it was blocked by administrators and her account was disabled. "Those moderators, they do it for free to get to the girls," says Ashley. "They sit there all day on the site and bash you and then say if you want to post there [to advertise] you have to pay them!"

Elms is unlikely to face charges over these allegations of abuse. "He is versed in what the law says," Nancy explains. "He knew exactly what he could get away with and did it for a long time. In fact he could have continued getting girls to service him," had he not been jailed.

Of the escorts who came to me with their stories, none were nearly so concerned with retaliation from Elms as they were with the scrutiny of law enforcement and the safety of online escort advertising services. One former escort described what it took for her and her business to survive: Having sex extorted from her, not by Elms, but by police claiming to be investigating her. Nancy believes Elms will never be investigated for his business built on advertising prostitution: "I think that our society and our court system is much too conservative. The fact is we are talking about some scumbag who owns a website and a bunch of hookers who want 'justice' for being sexually extorted and mistreated. I don't know that the good 'ol boys would go for that myself."

And the fate of TER? In the last week, since Elms has been in jail, Ashley says she's seen three new clients — two from San Francisco — for $1,000 dinner appointments. She says they all found her through years-old message posts remaining on TER, even though she is currently not allowed to post herself. "One of the San Francisco guys was so smart and unbelievable ... I emailed him to say, you have too much going on for you, stay away from TER." Wishful thinking: "TER is the industry standard for men seeking providers," says Nancy. "There is no other that comes close. Reviews are what fuel the industry."

Will Elms's arrest change that? Not so long as other clients-turned-entrepreneurs can start their own escort-review sites. "I don't advertise anywhere," says Nancy. "All the business i get is solely based on reviews. Keeping this in mind you can imagine what kind of power Mr. Elms has had."

And what power there may to be grab, if this arrest spells the demise of his career in the sex trade. When Elms told Ashley, "I can show you the business if you come stay with me," she replied, "I don't need you to. I'm going to start my own website for the girls so we didn't need boards like yours."

Have you been raped by Dave at The Erotic Review? From a Provider http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/rnr/632884435.html Looks like Dave of TER is getting what's coming to him TER is a disgrace. Someone really needs to shut them down for good.

Have you been raped by Dave at The Erotic Review?
Reply to: pers-632884435@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-04-06, 6:36PM PDT
Are you one of the women Dave Elms has coerced into unsafe sex to stay on his website? Did he ban you because you refused? Did you contract an STD from your rape? Are you interested in making sure that this doesn't happen to another woman?

If you are willing to tell your story to a private investigator who will guarantee your anonymity you can help stop this. Please send a brief description of your experience with him and you will be contacted. With a few women who are willing to go on record this man can be stopped - and you will be able to bring a civil suit and make him pay for what he has done.

Other accusations leveled at Elms are removing the positive reviews of providers who won't date him or his employees, which, the escorts claim, could damage their business and reputation. Is it really true that even in the sex business, to get a good performance review, woman are still asked to sleep with the CEO?

(Photo of Natalia, formerly of NY Confidential, via New York magazine)