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Vice Cops Shut Down TriBeCa Dungeon
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 18, 2008
Modified Sep 18, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 18, 2008
Modified Sep 18, 2008
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A dominatrix at the Rapture S&M parlor in TriBeCa allegedly offered a "prostate massage" to an undercover cop for $200, leading to her arrest Monday night on prostitution charges. The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was conditionally released. The owner of the club, Staten Island's Collin Reeve, was also arrested and charged with promoting prostitution. His lawyer tells the Daily News that "the NYPD does not know the difference between prostitution and freedom of expression. There is nothing on the books that states S&M is illegal. The City of New York should know the difference between prostitution and a perfectly legal S&M dominatrix house."
The club's ads asserted that "we do not engage in any form of prostitution whatsoever, so don't even ask!" But the Vice squad suspects that besides all the bondage, whipping, "heavy suspension and complex medical sessions," Rapture's employees would also offer sex. Police had received complaints from neighbors about noises reverberating from the club, and a photographer who has a studio above Rapture tells the Post, "When I work late, 'til 11 or midnight, I hear slapping and screaming, like whack, followed by ahh!"
The Post also gets some color from the superintendent of a Staten Island building where Reeve lived for several years: "When they left, we found out they were total freaks. We found videos of him and people playing with people dressed up as dinosaurs. When they had a party, the people who came were weirdos. They wore all leather. They would wear spikes around their necks, too." Reeve has pleaded not guilty and is still being held in lieu of a $30,000 bond. And the NYPD does seem to have a thing for S&M clubs; last April they raided another Manhattan dungeon and charged six women with prostitution.
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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