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| Photos from a homeless advocate show the injuries of George Grayson, 37, one of many St. Petersburg homeless men who said they were paid $25 to $50 to be beaten by women for a fetish site. |
St. Petersburg homeless men say they're enduring beatings for bucks in fetish fight videos
ST. PETERSBURG - It sounded like a good idea to George Grayson: Get $50 for submitting to a 12-minute videotaped beating by an attractive female. A homeless man, Grayson needed the money. So he followed the recruiters to a St. Petersburg townhouse on seven different occasions over the last few months, he said, and let five different women use his body and face as a punching bag. Grayson, 37, became one of many St. Petersburg homeless men allegedly targeted by recruiters from Shefights.net, a locally operated website that sells for as much as $900 videos of scantily clad or semi-nude women beating up men, according to a lawsuit. "I'm still in a little bit of pain from a couple of weeks ago," Grayson said last week. "I'm just trying to deal with it mentally right now." Local homeless advocate G.W. Rolle said for months he noticed men walking around Williams Park with black eyes, split lips and limps before he finally got someone to tell him about the "beatdowns," as they have come to be known among the homeless. He began interviewing and photographing several men with similar stories and injuries, and attorneys representing two of the men have filed a lawsuit against Jeff Williams of Shefights.net, J.P. Florida Productions, "Cindy Doe" and "Jane Does 1-5." Southern Legal Counsel, which has represented St. Petersburg's homeless in the past, filed the suit seeking an injunction to stop the beatings, saying the men were vulnerable and desperate for money. It also seeks damages for medical costs and emotional distress. "I was shocked when I found out what was really going on," Rolle said. "It's incredible what people will do to each other." Williams, of Shefights.net, said Rolle coaxed and bought the testimony of Grayson and 20-year-old Kyle Shaw, the two plaintiffs in the suit. He said he plans to countersue, claiming the men and their advocates lied and have damaged his reputation. "These men are crack addicts and will say anything for money," Williams said. He said Grayson and Shaw were featured in some of the videos, but he said they signed liability releases and knew what they were doing. "They've come back many times, which makes it pretty consensual," Williams said. Citing the case, he declined to speak about the videos or other specifics....
I'm a little torn as to how I come down on this one. On the porn company's side, if these guys were hurtin' so badly, why do they keep comin' back? On the other hand, crack addicts and homeless people with low IQ's probably can be talked into doin' just about anything for money. On the third hand, who actually gets off watchin' a chick beat the shit out of a crackhead? In the end, I think it comes down to this: Just like everything else in life, it gets all screwed up once the lawyers get involved. If everything was just left alone, the homeless dudes would be fine - they'll stop if they figure it's not worth it anymore. People will jerk off in the privacy of their homes without hurtin' anyone. The chicks make a few bucks shootin' the videos and the porn company keeps on takin' advantage of good ol' American capitalism. Laissez faire! Leave 'em alone! Kill the lawyers. Pay attention.
