ShysterJon says: "I've never heard of a case in the history of the universe where LE read a 'fantasy review' of a provider-hobbyist encounter and decided to bust one or both participants based merely on the review."
CompanionEstella says: "[ShysterJon,] I'm sorry but I'm a little concerned at your statement that you haven't heard of LE busting clients for writing the review. In Seattle, where I am from, they are charging hobbyists with FELONIES for review writing!.... All of this was over simple review writing and nothing else."
Who's right?
I'm familiar with the TheReviewBoard.net busts in Seattle from reading news articles and articles in professional journals. Is CompanionEstella right that the arrests were based ONLY on writing reviews? No, she's not:
1. The hobbyists began meeting in bars to discuss providers.
2. The hobbyists formed a group called 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.'
3. "The men wrote glowing reviews to draw customers to their favorite women. That kept the women in town longer and encouraged the seven agencies supplying the women to send new prospects their way."
4. "'So they were really operating as pimps,' said Valiant Richey, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for King County and one of the lead attorneys on the case. 'They're charged with promoting prostitution because
they expanded the market, they facilitated visits to these women, they connected new buyers to the women and helped with the screening process." (Emphasis added.)
5. "Instead of charging the 16 league members with buying sex, a misdemeanor, they were charged with promoting prostitution — a felony."
See:
Sasha Aslanian, "Battle against sex trafficking turns to prostitution review sites," Marketplace, September 16, 2016.
Moreover, 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' drew the attention of LE because the providers involved were Korean nationals working in AMPs, and there were allegations of sexual slavery.
See:
Amy Clancy, "Microsoft director, former Amazon director charged in prostitution sting," KIRO, May 13, 2016.
So, you see, there is no comparison to what the members of 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' did in Seattle – pimping – to an individual writing a review on Eccie.
I stand by my statement.