CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Three Lexington, Ky., men have been arrested by federal agents for allegedly luring a local man into a gay sex act, photographing it, then trying to extort $75,000 from the victim to keep the picture from his family and colleagues, the Lexington Herald Leader reports. Only one man has fallen victim to the apparent scheme, but the three men intended to target other well-heeled Lexington residents, according to a sworn statement by Gary Ludwick, an FBI agent who investigated the case. Two of the three men have been indicted in connection with the crime, and the third, who turned himself in Friday, has been charged and probably will be indicted next month. The scheme included a simulated cash drop that was snatched up by a motorcyclist, who then sped away, Ludwick said. Agents tracked the motorcycle and a car registered to one of the men. It all started July 14, when the victim met one of the men and had sex with him at the Microtel hotel on Winchester Road. The pair met again July 26 at Hamburg Pavilion and went to the victim's home. Then, according to Ludwick, the victim received an E-mail the next day with an attached photograph of the intimate encounter at the Microtel. It read: "I'm sure a charitable contribution of $75,000 cash will help keep this photo, the complete video, or other information we know about you, out of the wrong hands.... Breathe even a whisper of it, and your wife, children and many others will get pictures and much more. Not to mention your own safety and may be in jepordy [sic]." Within hours the man called the FBI, who traced the E-mail address through America Online.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
BREAKING: Supreme Court to decide whether states can ban transgender women & girls from sports
July 03 2025 10:02 AM
True
Who was Jimmy Swaggart, the late, anti-LGBTQ+, disgraced televangelist?
July 02 2025 5:40 PM
The deadly 'big beautiful' budget bill will turn America into a morgue
July 02 2025 11:28 AM
Appeals court rules transgender Florida teacher cannot use female pronouns in school
July 04 2025 7:00 AM
How dark will our skies be on July 4, 2026?
July 04 2025 6:00 AM
Queer subtext in Disney's 'Elio' was reportedly cut by Pixar
July 03 2025 12:30 PM