Rentboy-Hiring Homophobe
George Rekers Urges Hired
Escort to Keep Quiet
What has anti-gay activist George Rekers been up to since it was revealed that he hired a male escort for a European vacation? First, he wrote a letter denying everything. Then, he spoke with the escort and... didn't deny anything.
Our story so far: On Tuesday, The Miami New Times' Brandon Thorp and Penn Bullock broke the story of Family Research Council co-founder Rekers' European vacation with "Lucien" the rentboy. Thursday, they spoke with Lucien, who confirmed much of their original reporting.
Later that day, the two journalists also published their account of a phone conversation they overheard between Rekers and "Lucien." While it's not directly "incriminating"—Rekers never specifically admits to receiving the "long stroke"—he doesn't challenge any of the assertions made by Lucien or the New Times reporters, and tries to downplay his own homophobia and anti-gay activism. The closest Rekers gets to a confession comes as he frantically tries to convince Lucien to stay quiet about the story:
"We did the whole massage thing," Lucien said, "and I don't know what to think about it."
"Yeah," said Rekers, "just say 'no,' and just say 'I've already [indecipherable] to the press,' and that's it. 'Cuz if you keep answering, it'll keep the story alive."
"This isn't something I can just be silenced about!" Lucien said moments later.
And then, later:
"Sometimes I feel like I should just tell (the press) what happened on the trip."
"No," said Rekers quickly, "Please don't do that. Please don't let them pressure you into it."
Lucien sounds confused and angry; Rekers desperate and practiced at epic self-denial. Thorp and Bullock call the conversation "sad" and say it "felt pornographic." The complex motivations and emotions of real people: Always getting in the way of good scandal-caused schadenfreude!
Meanwhile, the New Times received a delightful letter from "Professor George" on the same day. "I have been advised to retain the services of a defamation attorney in this matter," he writes to Thorp, "because the fact is that I am not gay and never have been." Rekers goes on in the missive to present, FAQ-style, four questions for his travel assistant, including:
2. Did you in fact lift my luggage during the trip each time it was necessary, or did Dr Rekers lift his own luggage during the trip?
We agreed that my travel assistant did in fact lift my luggage each time it was necessary, that I did not lift my luggage, and my travel assistant did all the lifting.
Well.
BONUS
A second man, a former male prostitute, came forward earlier today with details of his sexual encounter with rent-boy hiring Christian anti-gay leader George Rekers. We gave him a call to get his full story.
We haven't been able to confirm the events that the former stripper, escort and adult actor named Carl Shepherd says took place at the Hyatt Regency at Chicago's O'Hare airport in 1992. Emails to three email addresses posted on Rekers' site went unanswered, although Rekers has denied reporting by the Miami New Times this week that he's been involved with a rentboy named "Lucien" in recent months.
Here's what Shepherd told us when reached by phone earlier today. Now 41, Shepherd claims that during the summer of 1992, he was living in Chicago where he'd placed an advertisement in Gay Chicago Magazine's models and escorts section offering his services and boasting of his porn experience. The ad listed a pager number for prospective clients. One evening the pager went off. It was George Rekers:
It was an old pager, so all that came up was a telephone number and a three digit number after that.
I called back – it was the Hyatt Regency Hotel at O'Hare airport, so I gave them the three digits as a room number.
"Hello, did you page me?"
"Yes."
"What can I do for you?" There was a pause.
"I'm looking to spend an hour with a smooth young man for an… intimate massage. Nude. I'm kinda vanilla—I just want light touching, not sex." He knew the lingo. It seemed like he'd done this before.
"OK, but I have a rule—I have to have your real name. I write the name down, and I leave it here so my roommate knows where I'm going and who I'm with in case anything happens to me. It's not negotiable.
"George Rekers," he said with no hesitation.
I took the train from my apartment in downtown Chicago to the hotel, about 45 minutes. When he answered the door he was wearing dress pants, and a polo shirt. He said hi and was very friendly and polite as he started to undress. I took it as my cue to do the same.
He lay on the bed, stomach down. I climbed astride him and started massaging his neck.
"Lighter, just run your fingers over my skin. Like a kind of tickle touch."
So I did. I ran my fingers down his spine. He was squirming and pushing his ass up in the air, because he wanted me to touch him there. Eventually I'd touched him over every inch of his body with the same light touch. He got very aroused for an old guy—I was impressed actually.
Looking back I think he thought that it wasn't gay, that he hadn't crossed the line, because he didn't want me to masturbate him at all. Just run my fingers over him there.
We lay on the bed afterwards, both still naked. There was still some time left so I asked him:
"Did you call me up just because I've been in porn movies?"
He didn't answer for a little while. "I didn't know. What type of thing?"
I told him about the oral and anal sex that I engaged in. He seemed really disgusted. His face curled up. He handed me $150 and I left. But I felt a bit guilty it had ended like that. I remember thinking that I'd really grossed him out, that I'd corrupted this confused man.
I didn't think about it again until this week. Honestly I had no idea who Rekers was, or what he did until Monday or Tuesday when I saw a link to the story about him and the other rent boy.
Photos: Carl Shepherd currently (left); Shepherd in the early '90s (top left); "Lucien" (top right); George Rekers (bottom right).
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