Child Sex Rings: Not Just for Hollywood's Gay Elite

It’s all over the news. X-Men director Bryan Singer and three other Hollywood bigwigs have been accused of sex with a minor. Michael Egan, who is now 31, claims that he was raped by many of entertainment’s gay mafia in the late 90s. Egan was only a teenager at the time. Besides the juicy names involved, the story is making headlines because of the sensationalistic milieu where the rapes allegedly occurred—wild sex parties at mansions in Los Angeles and Hawaii. At these gatherings, naked teenage boys were reportedly given money and drugs in exchange for sex with the Hollywood elite. Descriptions of these parties sound very Valley of the Dolls. Well, the Ken dolls, at least.

The lawyer at the helm of these lawsuits, Jeff Herman, has recently been making quite a name for himself. The self-styled “Voice for Victims” is also the guy who brought suit against the voice of Elmo, Kevin Clash. Herman has been specifically targeting Hollywood types, because he says, “Hollywood has a problem with the sexual exploitation of children. This [the Singer case] is the first of many cases I will be filing to give these victims a voice and to expose the issue.”

While I’m all for legal action against sexual abusers—and certainly Gung Ho for the exposure of any “notorious” sex ring—I worry about Herman’s message that child sex rings are somehow a Hollywood problem. Based on the five famous men he has recently targeted, I’m also gravely concerned about the implication that sexual abuse is somehow a gay thing. The truth is: Child sex rings (or, in this case, teen sex rings) are not reserved for the rich, gay, and famous. They are everywhere in the world, exploit children of all ages and both genders, and involve perpetrators from every walk of life. Most rings don’t involve mansions or private jets or promises of movie deals. Most rings don’t involve men with the kind of fame and money that would attract a lawyer like Herman to fight for its victims.

I know all of this, because I’m an expert of sorts. I’m a psychologist who specializes in the study of child sex rings. More poignantly, I was the victim of one. When I was 8-years-old, I began living with a pedophile who routinely traded kiddie porn and actual kiddies with other men.  For six years, I was prostituted to other members of the ring, both one-on-one and at sex parties. A few of these parties were held at expensive houses and involved men of means. Most were held at motels and involved run-of-the-mill perverts. All of my abuse was obviously perpetrated by men with heterosexual tendencies. And there wasn’t a Hollywood type among them.

All over the world, children and teens are routinely and systematically lured into sex rings by malicious adults. According to the FBI, these run the gamut from solo sex rings with a single perpetrator enjoying a stable of young playthings to highly organized, multi-abuser rings that sell child pornography and children for profit. Internationally, there are rings that buy and kidnap children from around the globe for use in child-sex tourism.

Here at home, a quick Google search will turn up countless news stories of fathers, stepfathers, uncles, coaches, teachers, counselors, and clergymen luring their wards into suburban sex rings.

​So, in light of this highly sensational story, I think it’s very important to remember that child sex rings don’t all happen under the palms of the Paul Mitchell estate. For, when we assume that, we gain a false sense of security, believing child sexual exploitation is something that happens somewhere else. But believe me, it happens everywhere and to all types of children. There may even be a child sex ring operating on your quiet cul-de-sac.