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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former sex trafficking victim pardoned by President Trump reveals disturbing secrets of legal brothel
Rebekah "Bekah" Charleston had an eerie feeling when she walked inside the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in western Nevada. "While the TV show 'Cathouse' might've made it look glamorous on the side when you drive out, it's a double-wide trailer in the middle of nowhere. It's a literal compound you're entering into," the former sex trafficking victim told Fox News Digital. "It was strange. No one was allowed to have a car there," she said. "Nobody ever left their workplace. We were forced to sleep in the same rooms where we were serving customers all day long. We'd get to change the sheets, but then we would sleep in those same rooms. That's not a job like any other." 'Girls Gone Wild' Exploited Underage Girls, Crew Members Told 'Don't Take No For An Answer' The North Texas woman is now speaking out on A&E's docuseries, "Secrets of the Bunny Ranch." The six-part special explores the rise of "America's No. 1 sex destination" and its charismatic owner, Dennis Hof, a self-proclaimed pimp who died in 2018 at age 72. It features never-before-seen footage, personal photos and never-before-heard interviews with ex-employees. Read On The Fox News App Fox News Digital reached out to Moonlite Bunny Ranch for comment. "Speaking out in a docuseries like this is kind of terrifying and overwhelming," Charleston admitted. "But … I think it's important that we're holding people accountable now." Growing up, Charleston was a troubled teen who ran away from home at age 16. Living on the streets, she was forced into prostitution by a boyfriend. By age 17, she became involved with a trafficker. Charleston said she was in her early 20s when she was sent to the Bunny Ranch as "a form of punishment." "I was in Las Vegas working for [my trafficker] at all the casinos and escort services," she recalled. "I started getting arrested too much. The police started recognizing me as they often do in Las Vegas. So, he made me go to the brothels." Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X There was one rule Charleston's trafficker ordered her to follow: Stay away from Hof. "My trafficker warned me that … all [Hof] would try to do is get girls high and drunk and then have services with him for free," she claimed. "And my trafficker wasn't about to let me do that." According to the docuseries, the women were required to read "The Bunny Bible," which also guided them on client negotiations. "We would line up like cattle every Thursday to get a pap smear," said Charleston. "We just go one right after the other in a room in the back. A doctor would be on the premises doing a pap smear. I also had to get my blood tested once a month to make sure that I didn't have HIV or AIDS." The Bunny Ranch was the setting for HBO's reality TV series, "Cathouse," which premiered in 2005. While the series depicted the workers as earning loads of cash, it was far from the truth, Charleston said. That sentiment was echoed by several ex-workers in the docuseries. "I started at the Love Ranch," Charleston said of Hof's other legal brothel in Nevada. "You had to earn your spot because the Bunny Ranch was [Hof's] prized brothel. I wound up earning a lot of money, enough money to be moved over to the Bunny Ranch." Sign Up To Get The True Crime Newsletter "The house takes 50% of your money off the top, no matter what," she added. "The harsh reality is that you're automatically getting half of whatever it is that you're charging customers and having to do all the sexual services for. And then you're charged with room and board, food and supplies. "Everybody has their hands on your 50%. ... I know some people who have worked there who have bragged about making a million dollars in a year. Well, that's automatically $500,000. And then out of that, there are 12 months of room and board, 12 months of supplies and other things. It winds up being a lot less than advertised." While some of the ex-employees alleged in the docuseries that they'd experienced violence at the hands of customers, Charleston said she didn't face similar encounters. "I've heard a lot of other stories – people that have died there, people that have nearly died there," she said. "There are a lot more details coming out about that in the series. But, thankfully, I didn't face violence at the hands of sex buyers." Charleston said she was eventually pulled out of the Bunny Ranch when her trafficker realized she wasn't earning enough for him. She also described struggling to deposit enough money in the bank. Leaving felt "liberating," she said. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub "It's such a dark and dingy place," she reflected. "Girls just sat around and got high all day. … The reality is, you're sitting around all day waiting for the bell to ring. You have no idea who's going to come through the door or if they're going to pick you. … You can imagine someone working at the brothel who maybe hasn't had a date all week, but they still have to pay for their room and board every single day. "They still have to pay for their food. You wind up being indebted to the brothel. You end up taking a call or 'a date' as we would call it, that you don't even want to do. But you have to because now you're in the red, and you have to pay for your fees." "It's such an odd reality when you are living in an establishment that does nothing but just sells sex all the time," she said. "It was depressing, it was gross and I was really happy when I finally got to leave." But Charleston's troubles didn't end there. In 2006, she was arrested for tax evasion and served 13 months in federal prison. She was pardoned in 2020 by President Donald Trump. "I had been prepared for that from day one," she said. "My trafficker had drilled in and beaten into us that the only word we were allowed to say was 'lawyer.' Unfortunately, I kept my mouth shut, and I took the charge … for my trafficker, even though it was never my income. That was none of my money. But myself and the other victims, we took the charge because we were terrified of our trafficker." WATCH: ILLEGAL MASSAGE PARLORS ACROSS US TARGETED IN MAJOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUST "In some ways, [being in prison] was a little bit of a vacation," she said. "It was the first time I didn't have people touching my body. … I got to eat three meals a day. I would sometimes get to sleep eight hours a night. … In some ways, it was a reprieve from the lifestyle that I had been lured and manipulated into." When Charleston was released, she was determined to turn her life around. In 2013, she launched Bekah Speaks Out, which provides training and consulting services to law enforcement and community leaders. She earned degrees in criminal justice and criminology and filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Nevada over the legalized prostitution industry. Charleston also worked with senators to advocate for the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which "aims to provide victims the opportunity to vacate or expunge federal convictions resulting from their victimization." The White House took notice. Officials said Charleston is a victim of sex trafficking who was forced into prostitution, and she now volunteers to help victims. Her pardon by President Trump was also supported by a law enforcement agent who arrested her. "I was shocked to get the pardon," said Charleston. "I feel really blessed. … [But] those things still show up on my record. I still have to explain to people, 'Hey, I do have a piece of paper that President Trump signed and says he forgives me.' "I'm still fighting for full relief, which is the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act," she said. "It's up in Congress right now. … We've been trying to get this bill passed since 2016. If it were to go through, they would go back and redact the records, and it would be as if it never happened. That, to me, would be true justice. I [wouldn't] have to explain myself any longer." Charleston hopes speaking out encourages others to come forward. "It makes me sad to know how many girls, many young women, were sucked in, thinking, 'I'm going to live this glamorous lifestyle. I'm going to have fun and have sex all day and make money,'" she said. "You're a prisoner stuck on the property, it's not always going to be fun and you don't really make that much money.. … I'm excited about what I get to do today and help other people."Original article source: Former sex trafficking victim pardoned by President Trump reveals disturbing secrets of legal brothel
Fox News
11 hours ago
- Fox News
Former sex trafficking victim pardoned by President Trump reveals disturbing secrets of legal brothel
Rebekah "Bekah" Charleston had an eerie feeling when she walked inside the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel in western Nevada. "While the TV show 'Cathouse' might've made it look glamorous on the side when you drive out, it's a double-wide trailer in the middle of nowhere. It's a literal compound you're entering into," the former sex trafficking victim told Fox News Digital. "It was strange. No one was allowed to have a car there," she said. "Nobody ever left their workplace. We were forced to sleep in the same rooms where we were serving customers all day long. We'd get to change the sheets, but then we would sleep in those same rooms. That's not a job like any other." The North Texas woman is now speaking out on A&E's docuseries, "Secrets of the Bunny Ranch." The six-part special explores the rise of "America's No. 1 sex destination" and its charismatic owner, Dennis Hof, a self-proclaimed pimp who died in 2018 at age 72. It features never-before-seen footage, personal photos and never-before-heard interviews with ex-employees. Fox News Digital reached out to Moonlite Bunny Ranch for comment. "Speaking out in a docuseries like this is kind of terrifying and overwhelming," Charleston admitted. "But … I think it's important that we're holding people accountable now." Growing up, Charleston was a troubled teen who ran away from home at age 16. Living on the streets, she was forced into prostitution by a boyfriend. By age 17, she became involved with a trafficker. Charleston said she was in her early 20s when she was sent to the Bunny Ranch as "a form of punishment." "I was in Las Vegas working for [my trafficker] at all the casinos and escort services," she recalled. "I started getting arrested too much. The police started recognizing me as they often do in Las Vegas. So, he made me go to the brothels." There was one rule Charleston's trafficker ordered her to follow: Stay away from Hof. "My trafficker warned me that … all [Hof] would try to do is get girls high and drunk and then have services with him for free," she claimed. "And my trafficker wasn't about to let me do that." According to the docuseries, the women were required to read "The Bunny Bible," which also guided them on client negotiations. "We would line up like cattle every Thursday to get a pap smear," said Charleston. "We just go one right after the other in a room in the back. A doctor would be on the premises doing a pap smear. I also had to get my blood tested once a month to make sure that I didn't have HIV or AIDS." The Bunny Ranch was the setting for HBO's reality TV series, "Cathouse," which premiered in 2005. While the series depicted the workers as earning loads of cash, it was far from the truth, Charleston said. That sentiment was echoed by several ex-workers in the docuseries. "I started at the Love Ranch," Charleston said of Hof's other legal brothel in Nevada. "You had to earn your spot because the Bunny Ranch was [Hof's] prized brothel. I wound up earning a lot of money, enough money to be moved over to the Bunny Ranch." "The house takes 50% of your money off the top, no matter what," she added. "The harsh reality is that you're automatically getting half of whatever it is that you're charging customers and having to do all the sexual services for. And then you're charged with room and board, food and supplies. "Everybody has their hands on your 50%. ... I know some people who have worked there who have bragged about making a million dollars in a year. Well, that's automatically $500,000. And then out of that, there are 12 months of room and board, 12 months of supplies and other things. It winds up being a lot less than advertised." While some of the ex-employees alleged in the docuseries that they'd experienced violence at the hands of customers, Charleston said she didn't face similar encounters. "I've heard a lot of other stories – people that have died there, people that have nearly died there," she said. "There are a lot more details coming out about that in the series. But, thankfully, I didn't face violence at the hands of sex buyers." Charleston said she was eventually pulled out of the Bunny Ranch when her trafficker realized she wasn't earning enough for him. She also described struggling to deposit enough money in the bank. Leaving felt "liberating," she said. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "It's such a dark and dingy place," she reflected. "Girls just sat around and got high all day. … The reality is, you're sitting around all day waiting for the bell to ring. You have no idea who's going to come through the door or if they're going to pick you. … You can imagine someone working at the brothel who maybe hasn't had a date all week, but they still have to pay for their room and board every single day. "They still have to pay for their food. You wind up being indebted to the brothel. You end up taking a call or 'a date' as we would call it, that you don't even want to do. But you have to because now you're in the red, and you have to pay for your fees." "It's such an odd reality when you are living in an establishment that does nothing but just sells sex all the time," she said. "It was depressing, it was gross and I was really happy when I finally got to leave." But Charleston's troubles didn't end there. In 2006, she was arrested for tax evasion and served 13 months in federal prison. She was pardoned in 2020 by President Donald Trump. "I had been prepared for that from day one," she said. "My trafficker had drilled in and beaten into us that the only word we were allowed to say was 'lawyer.' Unfortunately, I kept my mouth shut, and I took the charge … for my trafficker, even though it was never my income. That was none of my money. But myself and the other victims, we took the charge because we were terrified of our trafficker." WATCH: ILLEGAL MASSAGE PARLORS ACROSS US TARGETED IN MAJOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUST "In some ways, [being in prison] was a little bit of a vacation," she said. "It was the first time I didn't have people touching my body. … I got to eat three meals a day. I would sometimes get to sleep eight hours a night. … In some ways, it was a reprieve from the lifestyle that I had been lured and manipulated into." When Charleston was released, she was determined to turn her life around. In 2013, she launched Bekah Speaks Out, which provides training and consulting services to law enforcement and community leaders. She earned degrees in criminal justice and criminology and filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Nevada over the legalized prostitution industry. Charleston also worked with senators to advocate for the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, which "aims to provide victims the opportunity to vacate or expunge federal convictions resulting from their victimization." The White House took notice. Officials said Charleston is a victim of sex trafficking who was forced into prostitution, and she now volunteers to help victims. Her pardon by President Trump was also supported by a law enforcement agent who arrested her. "I was shocked to get the pardon," said Charleston. "I feel really blessed. … [But] those things still show up on my record. I still have to explain to people, 'Hey, I do have a piece of paper that President Trump signed and says he forgives me.' "I'm still fighting for full relief, which is the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act," she said. "It's up in Congress right now. … We've been trying to get this bill passed since 2016. If it were to go through, they would go back and redact the records, and it would be as if it never happened. That, to me, would be true justice. I [wouldn't] have to explain myself any longer." Charleston hopes speaking out encourages others to come forward. "It makes me sad to know how many girls, many young women, were sucked in, thinking, 'I'm going to live this glamorous lifestyle. I'm going to have fun and have sex all day and make money,'" she said. "You're a prisoner stuck on the property, it's not always going to be fun and you don't really make that much money.. … I'm excited about what I get to do today and help other people."
