UPDATE: Rentboy Raid Gets National Headlines, Concern From Escorts

According to a 22-page complaint filed by Susan Ruiz, a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security (click here for a .pdf of the full filing), this morning’s raid on the Rentboy.com were because the site was conspiring to use “interstate commerce with intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, and carrying on of … prostitution and promotion of prostitution …”

According to the New York Times, who published the above photo of CEO Jeffrey Hurant, the seven current or former Rentboy.com employees arrested earlier today have all been released on bonds ranging from $50,000 to $350,000. (The Times also included a quote from gay porn star Ryan Raz’s profile).

The complaint alleges that, despite many disclaimers suggesting otherwise, the site “is designed primarily for the advertisement of sexual services” and they make money “through payments from escorts for advertisements on the site.”

Buzzfeed reported on the raid, adding that, “The government is also attempting to restrain the site’s domain name and seize more than $1.4 million of “alleged criminal proceeds.” The growing list of mainstream news outlets to pick up the story include The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and The Daily Beast.

Hurant issued a statement saying the following:

“I don’t think that we do anything to promote prostitution. I think we do good things for good people, and we bring good people together.”

In a post for The Stranger, Dan Savage argues that the site might actually be helping reduce violence against sex workers:

“… You know what pimps are, right? They’re those violent and exploitative monsters that anti-sex-work activists and law enforcement officials insist they’re trying to protect sex workers from. So the anti-sex-work logic goes like this: Pimps are terrible! Sites like Rentboy.com put pimps out of business! We have to shut down those sites!”

Tags: CNN, Hookers, Jeffrey Hurant, Newsweek, prostitution, Rentboy, Rentboy.com, Ryan Raz, The Daily Beast, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post