December 3, 2024 • 40 mins
Ellie and Eleanor lay a bunny trap for Luis.
The Bunny Trap is produced by Novel.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Before we get started, I just wanted to let you
know that this episode contains swearing and explicit sexual language
and references to graphic allegations, which might be upsetting. It's
also a story of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to
the women who have shared their stories with us. We
contacted the photographer mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment,
(00:34):
but we never heard back. He has not been charged
with any crimes and is presumed innocent under the law.
We also contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have
asked their licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this
series and that they prohibit paid to play the practice
of charging models to appear in magazines. Our research into
his association to Playboy and their statement can be heard
(00:57):
in episode four.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So you've got a bit of a camelto going on.
Every investigative journalist needs her friends.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Oh god, pretty sultry. It's quite a lot for someone's
first Instagram post, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Sophie's one of mine. You look on comfort, so get comfy.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I've known her since we were teenagers. She's my best
mate from school and we also went to UNI together.
Back when we were eighteen, are weekends involved heading out
to clubs slathered in fake tan. Now we're in our thirties,
things are usually a bit more sedate, except for when
I ask Sophie to help me with my investigations.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I get a private message like, please help me. I mean,
I get raped into things like this all the time.
Then I say not can I. I guess I'm just
a good friend, but.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
This is a big ask. Sophie is going to be
the star of a fake Instagram.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Profile, boobs out all the time.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
She's posing as a glamor girl, a young muzzel just
starting out in the industry. We're going to use that
profile to arrange a meeting with Luis Gomez.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I feel like, if you guys are gonna catch a
babby and all that, then it's support him.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I've packed Sophia disguise, including a long brunette wig.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I mean, it's definitely not human hair, probably like a
very dark eyebrow.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I've also got a few lingerie sets that Emily, one
of the models who first called out Luis, helped us
pick out from Primark.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Everything's pretty lacey, slash shit, I guess that kind of
shows off a bit about I kind of like it.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
It's quite big.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
See who has size? And then a bottom half that
side of a din that like the size of prison.
After settling on a sheer kimono with a song underneath,
Sophie's ready for lights, camera action. Sexy like fifty year
old on the beach, like sexy boudoir, someone who's looking
for a mill.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I thought this would be a walk in the park.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It turns out glamor modeling is harder than either of
us imagined. Okay, and then just put that arm onto
your head. Yeah, you're like, you're just relaxing. I think
you need to be a bit more like what am
on your knees? Yeah, I think maybe that's where we
need to go. Sophie eases into the shoot and after
a few awkward.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Poses, you.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Get your farm further back on the chair.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We get the money shot. That's quite sexy. Okay, that's good.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Next step we need to conceal Sophie's identity. I edit
her face and body using an app, getting rid of
identifiers like tattoos. Let me change the color of her
eyes to start with.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Okay, so I've gone for a light blue, which is
not her eye color. Sophie's gone.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Now she's Jojo Harry, a blue eyed, black haired face
tuned fem for Tao whose name was inspired by two
legendary female spies, Josephine Baker and Masa Harri Cool Har.
We're going to use Jojo to try and confront Luis
on behalf of Emily and the other models who've spoken out.
(04:29):
We post a few images and pay a model promoter
thirty dollars to get a few thousand followers for Jojo,
and then after years of investigation, it's time.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Ah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I can't believe that this is all finally happening. Fore
so so surreal. We slide into Luis's DMS.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh my god, He's replied, I'm Ellie Flynn and from
this team at Novel.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
This is the final episode of The Bunny Trap, Episode seven,
What Happens in Vegas. It's morning in London and I've
(05:42):
just woken up to four messages from Luis Gomes.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
He tells Jojo Harri.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
My fake lamb model alias, that he's going to Vegas
the next day for two weeks of shoots and that she.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Can join too.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Okay, so I am sending Luis a message now to
try and arrange a meeting. So I've said, hey, I'm
really interested and can be in Vegas next week. It
feels so much as hinging on his reply to this message,
part of me is worried that he might get spooped.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Cent Ah. Just a few hours later, I like your image.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
Let me know if you are interested.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
He has said, Okay, let's do it. He tells me
his rates for a.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
Shoots two thousand, eight hundred and eighty. This includes the
production of photoshoot with forty edited photos three thousand, nine
hundred and eighty. This one includes also a behind the
sceneslip and for produced clips.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I'm not clear on what either of these options includes,
but either way, these prices seem really high. I tell
him it's too much money. Sure enough, Louise has a solution.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
Depending if we also do full only fans content, I
can do a discount, so you pay me only one
two hundred and fifteen.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I tell Louise I don't do only fans and that
I can't afford those rates. He drops his price again,
this time to six hundred and fifty dollars, and then weirdly,
he offers me a discounted hotel room.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
I have two apartments. I get you one only one
hundred dollars one for yourself.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
This is bizarre.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Why does he have two hotel rooms and why is
he offering one to Jojo. We don't want to pay
Luise any money for a shoot, and I'm obviously not
staying in his hotel room, so I ignore the offer.
But at least I now know where he's staying, the
Grand View Hotel, Las Vegas, so that's where my producer
Eleanor and I are headed.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Oh my god, that's amazing. That is amazing. I can't believe.
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Fuck back.
Speaker 8 (07:56):
Okay, we've got to find out when he can meet,
but it's on.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
We did it, well done. Were done to Vegas.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Good morning, It's six thirty am in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
How are you feeling, Yeah, it's all right.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
By the time we can get out to Vegas, Luisa's
trip is nearly over, So even though we only arrived yesterday,
we have less than twelve hours before we have to
be back at the airport for our flight home, and
in that time we need to find Luise and confront
him about everything we know. We wrote to Luis about
a month ago, asking if he would do an interview
with us and outlining the allegations that we're going to
(08:52):
be making in the podcast, and we said that, you know,
we wanted to give him a fair opportunity to respond
to those accusations. We know he's read it from what
we can tell from an email tracker that we've got
multiple times. Actually he's never come back to us, so
this is that last ditch attempt to hold them accountable.
I guess the fear is that the weight of your
investigation and all of the people that you've spoken to,
(09:16):
rests on it, and I just want to get it right.
The sun is starting to rise, dusky pink over the
mountains lining the horizon. We've headed south of the city,
out towards scrublands on the edge of the desert.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
It's unlike anywhere I've ever been before.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
But right now I'm having a typical American experience. I'm
at a diner.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Okay, I'm going to just cook that there.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Elena and I are meeting the security guards will be
accompanying us on our mission. There are three of them,
one woman and two men. I can't tell you their
names to protect their identities. But they're all ex cops.
Plus this is Vegas, so you know they've seen some shit.
Speaker 9 (09:59):
So I've been and here it was for thirty years,
so I've worked.
Speaker 10 (10:02):
I've know this town pretty well.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
The ex cops look like a group of middle aged
mates who've nipped out for an early breakfast. The two
guys in hoodies and jeans could easily be mistaken for tourists,
but the female agent it's more glamorous than you'd expect
for an next cop with bleach blonde hair. The difference
is these guys are all armed and take their mission
very seriously. I brief them about Luis over coffee, then
(10:25):
they get straight to work.
Speaker 11 (10:27):
I will call sexual assault detail here last weeks and.
Speaker 12 (10:30):
Run this by them and consue they have anything in.
Speaker 13 (10:33):
Reference with details like this going to happen.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
So, like I said in the metime, when we arrived
to scope out Luisa's hotel, we discover our first big problem. Literally,
I mean, it's just so much bigger than either of
us anticipated, and I cannot see how three security guards
are going to mark that whole area. The hotel spreads
across eight buildings, and some of the buildings have twenty
(11:00):
one floors. It has more than two thousand rooms. It's
fucking enormous, and everyone kept saying that it was big,
and I'd looked at it online, but I thought it
would all be contained and there would be sort of
one or a few funnels.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
In and out. But it's not like that at all.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
There is one main entrance and exit where if someone
was marking that, we would see him driving in or out.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
But there's so much space to.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Cover and by the time he's in a car, if
he's driving out, that's no good to us what.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
We're going to do.
Speaker 14 (11:32):
Then.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I'm an eternal optimist, but looking up at this complex,
I'm thinking we might be fucked. Being here is feeling really,
really overwhelming. I'm sort of looking around that we're just
surrounded by buildings and so many people constantly coming and going.
Definitely feels like finding him is going to be a
(11:54):
bit of a needle in a haystack. From Luise telling
Jojo that he was staying at this resort, the only
other intelligence we've been able to gather is from his
Instagram stories. His post suggests that he's been shooting with
two models all over Vegas. Our biggest clue is a
video they posted yesterday showing them driving out to the
(12:16):
canyons in a distinctive white jeep. We do endless laps
of the hotel car parks, hoping to spot the jeep,
but no luck. By ten am, three hours later, there's
still no sign of the car, the models, or Luise.
The waiting is so intense, but suddenly we get a clue.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
He's just posted an Instagram story.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I shoot him a message from Drojo's account, telling him
I'm in Vegas and asking to me to wait and
hope that he replies to my message. The seconds tick
by as I wait for him to respond, waiting to
see if he replies. This message is actual in the
most tense part, because it's just like, if there's any
way of pinning him down to a specific location, that's
(13:06):
going to make our jobs so much easier. So I'm
just kind of like checking the phone every thirty seconds
to see if he's replied.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Oh, he's just like my message. He's just like my message.
I think he's going to reply. He's just replied. Who's
replied saying yes we can shoot? Oh my god, Okay,
so he's still here.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
Here.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
He's just replied, saying yes, we can shoot. Oh my god, okay,
so what do we do now? Let's wait and see
what he says. Oh my god, my heart's going it's racing.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Okay, he replies, but refuses to meet up without payment first.
But we don't want to hand over any money to Louise.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
He's very hung up on the money.
Speaker 8 (13:58):
Yeah, he's not going to meet us without the money.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
He's not.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
So me and Elena going to overdrive trying to formulate
a reply while our glamorous ex cop tries to keep
us calm.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
She knows how to play the game. Don't respond too quickly.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Yeah, we don't want to see guests for it. And
when you do reply.
Speaker 15 (14:20):
Brief We wanted to just try to get away from
getting him back to seeing amount money, try to keep
him away from that.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I know he's going to go there.
Speaker 16 (14:32):
Yeah, but as long as we can keep this conversation
going without getting to that whole money thing.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
My heart is pounding.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
As a type out a reply, we reply now saying
like what time can you do and like try and
get some like logistics out of him.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I just need to like work out timings and location first.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Saying like Okay, yeah, I think I can maybe make
two pm work, Like, is it somewhere outside we can
do and try and get him to send us a.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Photo of where that could be and see if that
draws him out to her Pauls. Get some pictures.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
It'll give us like an idea of whereing this resort
he is. And if we think it's not weird to
be like, you know what, we're actually nearby, should we
just like pop in. I think this is it's the
best shot that we've had so far, off the shot, right, Yeah.
Speaker 16 (15:21):
Okay, I mean just be prepared for Yeah, now let's
say see some money.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Sure, how do you feel?
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I feel like a bit more optimistic than I not
for the rest of the fucking morning.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I hit send. So what has happened?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So Luis's replied saying I could do from two o'clock,
in which case we know he's probably going to be
here too. Luis has confirmed a time two pm, but
he still won't tell us where he's shooting until Jojo
pays a deposit.
Speaker 8 (15:50):
We messaged him as a last stitch attempt to see
if it would make any difference and if he'd like
to meet for a drink and he said, Ellie, can
you read he.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Said, he said, no, thank you, you take care. I'm
here for work and to do only paid photo shoot.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
But thank you. You have a good day. Smiley face,
sorry but not interested. Thanks for contacting me.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
And then we replied with understand, wish you could see,
but I get it truly lovely picks.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And some flower emoji, which is a lovely choice. Yeah,
and he hasn't got back to us yet, so I
feel like he's not going to meet us.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah, this conversation is going nowhere. Now we're back to
plan B, which is sticking out the hotel with our
security team hoping to catch a glimpse of him and
then going and was confront him when we do. We're
going to keep an eye on his social media's. He's
been posting quite a lot. We know a lot of
the models that he's been choosing with this week, so
we're keeping an eye on their profiles as well, just
(16:50):
to see if we can get any location tags, any
idea of what he's going to be doing, where he
might be today.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
And it looks like she's about to bust into tears. Yeah,
I am nervous. I am nervous.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And honestly, Eleanor's got good reason to be nervous because
after the break, the chase is on.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Oh my god, that looked like him.
Speaker 8 (17:15):
Yeah, fuck okay, shit shit shit, shit shit, he's alone.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Yeah, he's alone.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
It's really hot now, probably the heat of the day.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
And.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
We're still looking for him.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
I'm sitting in a car with my producer Eleanor. We're
dripping with sweat. This blistering Nevada heat is really not
being kind to adrenaline fuel podcasters from London, and we
know that Luis Gomes is going to be shooting in
and around Vegas soon, very soon. It feels like the
pressure is really on now because it feels like we've
(18:11):
got a very short window. It's now two o'clock nearly,
so if it gets to like half three four and
we've not seen him, I think we have to assume
that we've missed him leaving From an Instagram story, it
looks like Luis might have been traveling in a white jeep.
We think our best shot to find him is to
stake out the car park and hope he drives to
(18:34):
the shoot. So now all we can do is wait.
I feel like I'm in an extremely low budget spy movie,
attempting to look inconspicuous while we try to man as
many of the hotel exits as we can. Just then,
a white jeep slides past one of the entrances, and
just as quickly it slides out of.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
You guys.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Gets in the car.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Ellie, that was them.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
There's some tea. We don't put the cart before the horse.
Speaker 8 (19:07):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Our agent gets on the phone to her colleague.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Wait, jeep four bye, take a look at the mail
in it. It's a male subject wearing a ball cap.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And after letting our third and final agent know we're
on the move, we lose sight of him for a moment.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
But then the jeep comes into vision again.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Okay, I've got it up front.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And we're after it.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
This guy, this guy, I think he knows we're following him.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Poss on its frail. Now you chase the jeep into
the desert, getting closer.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh my god, that looked like him.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Yeah, fuck, okay, shit, shit, shit, shit shit.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
He's alone.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Yeah, he's alone.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
As we gain on him, he's winding and weaving, trying
to shake us.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This is Southern tense.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Yeah, Okay, here's in front of me. I'm just gonna
pull right up on him. I'm not going to pull
him over, but I'm gonna pull right up him.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Suddenly the jeep speed drops. We lurched the side after him.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
Well he's breaking me. Let's see, he's gonna pull over.
Do you want me tactic?
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I think him just putt's going to see it him?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
You want to see.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
The agent slams on the brakes. No, it's not him,
it's not him.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
It's not him. Him. How could you tell?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I could tell.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I saw his face.
Speaker 13 (20:34):
It's not him.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
She said, it's not him.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
It wasn't Louise in the jeep.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
It was a random man in a baseball cap, looking
pretty freaked out as a middle aged woman and two
Brits pulled up beside him with their phones out. I mean,
he was acting shady. The more he tried to lose us,
the more certain we became that it was Louise. Turns
out there was a pretty underwhelming reason why he was
trying to shake us. Some digging from our agents found
(21:01):
that he'd been driving with a suspended license plate. No
wonder he looks so stressed, adrenaline worn off. We're feeling
pretty gutted. So it is now nearly four o'clock. We
met the security team at six foot five this morning,
so it's been like nine hours since we embedded and nothing,
(21:31):
no sign of him.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It's so frustrating.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
And then we see that a model Luisa's been shooting
with has posted on Instagram. Look, she's just uploaded the
photo with him.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
Is that today?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Just an hour ago?
Speaker 11 (21:48):
Really?
Speaker 8 (21:49):
Are do you recognize that place at all? I think
we should go to the desert. That's like, the desert
is a ghost town?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Ah, it's not the desert, is it.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Notice there's no hills there on flat land?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Could it be there? This is a ghost town the vehicles, Oh,
it could be. It's a long shot.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
But time for one final Hell, Mary, we think they're
shooting in a ghost town, so we're off to find one.
After driving up a dirt track, we come across what
looks like the world's oldest saloon at the foot of
a hill leading up to Good Springs, Nevada, population one
(22:32):
hundred and twenty three.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Now I'm feeling properly on edge. This town is so
fucking creepy.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
I haven't been a single person is literally like the
scene of a horror film. How Emma has our investigation
ended up here in.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
A fucking ghost town at the edge of Nevada.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
It's not what I thought I would be doing when
I started investigating the glamor industry. There's an irony not
lost on me or Eleanor that our investigation into the
least regulated industry we've ever encountered is ending in the
real wild West. There are tantalizing signs everywhere, including another
(23:22):
white Jeep, but we know better than to fall for that.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Twice. We keep hoping Luise.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
Is just around the next corner, but he never is,
and as we pass yet another rundown building, even our
hard nosed agents are giving into wishful thinking.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Do you think anybody is in here?
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Looks like said?
Speaker 5 (23:42):
I was thinking, And I was like, if it's a
firon apartment.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
I wonder if I showed him the picture and asked
him if if they would by chance?
Speaker 12 (23:50):
No, I mean, that's one in a billion.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
You're you're real heat, You're.
Speaker 16 (23:56):
Asking though, I'm OK, That's what I did the job
I always grasped for straws.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
We're about to call it a day when Luise posts
on Instagram again, Okay, we've got video.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
We've got a video.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Okay, play out out a lake thing in the background.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
Yeap.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
This time he's out by a big body of water,
which one of our agents instantly recognizes.
Speaker 9 (24:20):
You know where.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
He said, it's Leap.
Speaker 7 (24:25):
Lake Merom, Lake Mead.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
And then you're you're being good and you'll.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Be an hour from there back to the airport.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Ah oh shit.
Speaker 12 (24:37):
And by the time we get there, they could be
long gone.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
The lake is one hundred and one miles from end
to end and thirty miles across.
Speaker 12 (24:44):
There's very a little chance we would find him, even
if we.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Were there kneeling a haystag.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
This is so hard, this is so odd, and it's
so frustrating. It's so typical that we now are like,
we know where he is and it's too late. I
initially felt like I'd let Emily and all the other
models down. But what was I really hoping to get
from that confrontation. We've put detailed allegations to Luise multiple times,
(25:14):
We've called, emailed, texted. He knows we're making this podcast,
but he's never responded. That silence speaks volumes to me.
I'm also far from the first person to try and
confront Luise. Nearly every model who you've heard in this
series spoke to him first, and he never took accountability.
(25:36):
To our knowledge, the only time Luise has addressed the
British women's allegations of sexual abuse was in an email
chain from twenty twenty two. It was sent to us
by another man in the industry, a small time magazine publisher.
Here's an excerpt from the emails.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
Hello there, my name is Louise Gomez. I want to
write you because I want to show you that all
these girls are adults. They do everything because they want,
so here we go.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Luise said that anything that happened between him and the
models was consential. He talks about models sending him explicit
content as evidence of this consent. But I've seen her
as receipts. I've heard her account of how he got
hold of her content by pressuring her and dangling the
promise of a publication in Playboy in front of her.
(26:27):
In the email chain I've seen, Luise also shares screenshots
of conversations with models as evidence of consent. These are
often from before the shoots took place, and they're frank
discussions about sex work and OnlyFans and what these models
do online. Using these messages as evidence of consent for
alleged abuse makes me feel deeply uneasy. It seems as
though Luise is using the fact that they do sex
(26:49):
work as evidence that they were up for anything. This
makes me realize that any confrontation I might have held
with Luise in Vegas was not going to bring the
model's closure. And the more I think about it, the
less I want this ending to be about Luise at all,
because platforming bad men is never what this series has
been about. I want a different resolution, something that makes
(27:12):
a real difference to the women I've met along this journey,
and that will hopefully protect more women in the future.
(27:39):
I turned to Luis's Patreon, the subscription site where he's
been posting models explicit content online, in some cases despite
their please not to. For years, that Patreon account has
haunted models. Photos taken on shoots with Luise, allegedly under
pressure or alongside sexual abuse have been given a second
life online, which Luise's thousands of dollars for.
Speaker 12 (28:03):
Hi Allen, I'm Amaya, an assistant producer.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
We get in touch with Patreon to let them know
about the allegations.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
We've heard about Luise.
Speaker 12 (28:11):
Investigating serious allegations by one glamor photographer. We have been
informed that this photographer has been using his Patreon account
to post content of models, including explicit images and videos,
which he had been sent privately on the condition the
content was for his eyes only.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
The models claim that Patreon begins an investigation of their own.
About a month later, Amalia gets an update from Ellen
sat White, the head of communications and US policy lead
at Patreon at the time.
Speaker 12 (28:41):
So what can you tell us?
Speaker 13 (28:44):
Yeah, so I can't talk about the specific creator, but
let me say it in this way. The account was
removed for violations of our pornography policy.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Luise's Patreon is down and it's because of us.
Speaker 13 (29:02):
It triggered our review of this creator. Yes, we were
not aware of it until you reported it to me.
We removed this creator for having violated our policies regarding
pornographic content, and this was not their first violation.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Ellen tells us that Patreon has taken steps to make
sure that Luis can never bring his account back.
Speaker 17 (29:29):
If they were to launch another account, it would have
to be substantively different than the account that they have currently.
Speaker 12 (29:40):
So can we then assume that Universe one three seven
will not make it comeback to Patreon without Patreon's review.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
That's right.
Speaker 12 (29:51):
That makes me.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
That makes me feel really good.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I can't wait to tell Emily the news. So we
managed to get his patron removed.
Speaker 14 (30:02):
Yes, yes, Oh my god, Oh I love that.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 14 (30:09):
That's that's so relieving. That's really good.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
That's so it's weird.
Speaker 14 (30:15):
It's like a it's not the outcome necessary that you know,
you can go to court and you can deal with
this stuff, but at the end of the day, if
it's gone, it's gone. It's a huge weight that's been
lifted knowing that that's not there anymore. And I wouldn't
have been able to do that myself. So I really
appreciate that.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Speaking to Emily again got me thinking about what justice
actually means in a world where successful sexual assault prosecutions
are pathetically low, where sex workers are overlooked and ignored,
while women are slut shamed and victim blaine over and
over again. Maybe this podcast in itself is a form
of justice. That first email I received back in twenty
(31:03):
twenty tipping me off about this story was sent to
newspaper desks all over the world, and to my knowledge,
I was the only person who responded, which unfortunately isn't
surprising to me. After all, when was the last time
you heard a mainstream media story from a sex worker's perspective.
I can't help thinking that if these women worked in
(31:24):
a different industry, more people would have listened. Sex workers
and glamor models are no less deserving of our care
than anyone else. They also need respect, boundaries, and understanding.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
In fact, they might need it more.
Speaker 14 (31:43):
People need to realize that just because we're models or
glamor models, or happy to do topless or nude shoots,
it doesn't matter any type of photography, that it's not
a free pass for you to touch us, breathe on us,
get within an inch of our bodies.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
I catch up with Herrah one last time too.
Speaker 18 (32:04):
I'm so grateful that you've listened, and yeah, you took
it on board, and that you guys have been doing
so much because.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
It's not just him.
Speaker 18 (32:12):
This could open people's eyes up to other photographers. You know,
this could have like a ripple effect. People might speak
out more about it.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
I hope so.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, I mean, the story is always felt important to me,
and I think people will listen, and I hope it
does change things, and that is what I want from this.
This series has always been about the models and for
the models, so I'd like to hand over these final
moments to some of the women at the heart of
this story who bravely shared their experiences in the hopes
(32:45):
that it might make the glamour industry safer for everyone.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
What would I like to say to Luis.
Speaker 11 (32:59):
Definitely he opened my eyes to the dark side of
the industry that I didn't know was a thing really
until then. Thank you for ruining my life at the time,
but Ressis Shark, you haven't ruined it in the long run.
Thanks for making me a stronger person.
Speaker 18 (33:18):
I actually have nothing. I have nothing to say to him,
not a single thing.
Speaker 14 (33:24):
I hope you realize this one day, the negative impact
that he's having on young women in this industry, and
hopefully he stops doing it. And if this podcast manages
to reach him in some way, then I hope he
takes it all on board, and I hope he is
apologetic and remorseful for everything that he's put everyone through.
Speaker 11 (33:41):
He seems to have got away with too much, so
I hope he's calmer catches up to him soon.
Speaker 10 (33:50):
I am so grateful.
Speaker 14 (33:52):
For all the girls that have come forward and been vulnerable,
including myself. I'm proud of myself for talking through everything.
Speaker 10 (33:59):
It's still very vivid to.
Speaker 14 (34:00):
Me, everything that had happened. I could recount the entire
thing over and either again. It's not something that I've forgotten.
All that's diminished of gone over the time, and I
can only think, if that's happened with how I feel,
then I'm sure it's the same for the other girlies.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Knowing that we're all in this together and having a
community of understanding and supporting and helping and lifting each
other up and growing with each other means the world
to me. I believe every woman on this planet Earth
needs embracing, brave, understanding and supportive women around them.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Women support each other and we lean on each other.
We're our soulmates and we're our cheerleaders. Women supporting women
will actually change the world.
Speaker 11 (34:50):
What are you up to now?
Speaker 2 (34:52):
So my life has totally changed.
Speaker 11 (34:55):
I have just been actually blessed with the best gift
I've ever had and became a mom, and I can't
wait to just continue loving her protecting her. So right
now in life, I'm in such a good place.
Speaker 9 (35:11):
I'm now a videographer and photographer for female content creators
in the adult industry. I provide that safe space for
them that I didn't have back then.
Speaker 14 (35:25):
I'm going to be walking in Miami Swim Week, which
is an amazing opportunity. I never thought I would have
the confidence to do that or be in front of
photographers and stuff.
Speaker 10 (35:34):
Again, I am thriving in my life. I'm learning, I'm evolving.
Speaker 14 (35:42):
What do I want people to take away from hearing
these stories?
Speaker 10 (35:45):
For people to get a reality check on what the
modeling industry really is.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
You know, there's a lot of evil and darkness in
the industry, and that darkness is being brought into the
light and exposed.
Speaker 11 (35:58):
I got taught to be quiet, keep your mouth shut.
If you see something, it's you that's going to look
like the bad person.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
No one's going to believe you.
Speaker 11 (36:08):
And that's what people do to try and keep people silenced.
If anything does, ever, haven't you just know that there
is people out there and there is support.
Speaker 13 (36:18):
Don't think you have.
Speaker 11 (36:19):
To do something just to get to where you want
to be. If it doesn't feel right, listen to your
heart and don't feel pressured, because the right opportunities are
always come back around.
Speaker 14 (36:29):
I just hope people are a little bit more open minded.
When you see a model's photo, you wonder, actually, did
you have a nice time.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
At that shoot?
Speaker 10 (36:36):
Was she okay at that shoot?
Speaker 12 (36:38):
You never know.
Speaker 14 (36:39):
We are glamor models first and foremost some of us,
do you only fans? Yes, we do consent to being
seen nude or in lingerie or scantily clad, and that's
absolutely fine.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
That doesn't mean that we are deserving.
Speaker 14 (36:50):
Of sexual assault. We are not here to be exploited
for our content. We are not just objects of sexual desire.
We are human beings. We deserve respect the same as
anybody else would. I feel a bit of closure.
Speaker 11 (37:06):
I feel like I can finally start closing the doors
on what happened was and help empower myself to feeling
like it wasn't my fault. Also feel very empowered that
the podcast has gone out. This is all ever wanted
and more for it all to come out and to
spread awareness.
Speaker 9 (37:32):
If this helps just one person, I'd be happy.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
We contacted Luis Gomez multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
saw a comment from Playboy USA. They declined our request
for an interview, but stay that they asked their licensees
to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and that
they prohibit paid to play the practice of charging models
(38:07):
to appear in magazines. The Bonnie Trap is produced by Novel.
For more from Novel visit novel dot Audio. The show
is hosted by me Ellie Flynn. You can find me
on social media by searching my name that's eb l
(38:30):
i E Fly double n. This season is produced by
Eleanor Biggs and written by me Ellie Flynn and Eleana Biggs.
Our assistant producer is Amalia Sortland, with additional production from
Lee Meyer and Saskia Collette. Additional research by Valeria Rocker.
The editors are Georgia Moody and Austin Mitchell. Our executive
producers are Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. Our fact checker
(38:52):
is Fendall Fulton. Production management from Scherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf.
Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempt and Nicholas Alexander.
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander, Elena Biggs and Max O'Brien.
Original music composed and performed by Jake Long, and additional
production by Nicholas Alexander, Louisa Gerstein, and Daniel Kempson. The
(39:14):
series artwork was designed by Christina Limcole. Willard Foxtons, Creative
Director of Development. Izzy was played by Flora and Claire.
Luis Gomeres was played by Juan Solari. Special thanks to
the following people to Colleague's past and present who have
helped bring this story to life. Anna Sinfield, Joe Wheeler,
Jakob Tirevich, David Waters, Naomi Clark, Laura Zailli, Robbie mckinnis,
(39:39):
Frankie Nichols, Julia Bromberg, Harry Cook, Mice, Lee Raw, Tom Wright,
Sasha Baker, John Joe Devlin, Vanessa Silva, Anna piel Mazzini,
and other journalists we've worked with who wished to remain anonymous,
to the legal and security teams we've worked with who
have helped keep us safe while reporting on this story,
(40:01):
as well as our production psychologist, Charlotte Armitage. Finally, telling
a story like this would be impossible without the trust
and bravery of the people at its heart. So a
massive thanks to the women who shared their stories with
us and the many anonymous sources who provided invaluable information, help,
knowledge and insight. This would not have been possible without you.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Novel
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey listeners, this is Ellie Flynn.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
Before we get started, I just wanted to let you
know that this episode contains swearing and explicit sexual language
and references to graphic allegations, which might be upsetting. It's
also a story of female empowerment and camaraderie thanks to
the women who have shared their stories with us. We
contacted the photographer mentioned in this podcast multiple times for comment,
(00:34):
but we never heard back. He has not been charged
with any crimes and is presumed innocent under the law.
We also contacted Playboy USA. They state that they have
asked their licensees to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this
series and that they prohibit paid to play the practice
of charging models to appear in magazines. Our research into
his association to Playboy and their statement can be heard
(00:57):
in episode four.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So you've got a bit of a camelto going on.
Every investigative journalist needs her friends.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Oh god, pretty sultry. It's quite a lot for someone's
first Instagram post, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Sophie's one of mine. You look on comfort, so get comfy.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
I've known her since we were teenagers. She's my best
mate from school and we also went to UNI together.
Back when we were eighteen, are weekends involved heading out
to clubs slathered in fake tan. Now we're in our thirties,
things are usually a bit more sedate, except for when
I ask Sophie to help me with my investigations.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I get a private message like, please help me. I mean,
I get raped into things like this all the time.
Then I say not can I. I guess I'm just
a good friend, but.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
This is a big ask. Sophie is going to be
the star of a fake Instagram.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Profile, boobs out all the time.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
She's posing as a glamor girl, a young muzzel just
starting out in the industry. We're going to use that
profile to arrange a meeting with Luis Gomez.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
I feel like, if you guys are gonna catch a
babby and all that, then it's support him.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
I've packed Sophia disguise, including a long brunette wig.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I mean, it's definitely not human hair, probably like a
very dark eyebrow.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I've also got a few lingerie sets that Emily, one
of the models who first called out Luis, helped us
pick out from Primark.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
Everything's pretty lacey, slash shit, I guess that kind of
shows off a bit about I kind of like it.
Speaker 5 (02:42):
It's quite big.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
See who has size? And then a bottom half that
side of a din that like the size of prison.
After settling on a sheer kimono with a song underneath,
Sophie's ready for lights, camera action. Sexy like fifty year
old on the beach, like sexy boudoir, someone who's looking
for a mill.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I thought this would be a walk in the park.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
It turns out glamor modeling is harder than either of
us imagined. Okay, and then just put that arm onto
your head. Yeah, you're like, you're just relaxing. I think
you need to be a bit more like what am
on your knees? Yeah, I think maybe that's where we
need to go. Sophie eases into the shoot and after
a few awkward.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Poses, you.
Speaker 5 (03:31):
Get your farm further back on the chair.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We get the money shot. That's quite sexy. Okay, that's good.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Next step we need to conceal Sophie's identity. I edit
her face and body using an app, getting rid of
identifiers like tattoos. Let me change the color of her
eyes to start with.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Okay, so I've gone for a light blue, which is
not her eye color. Sophie's gone.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
Now she's Jojo Harry, a blue eyed, black haired face
tuned fem for Tao whose name was inspired by two
legendary female spies, Josephine Baker and Masa Harri Cool Har.
We're going to use Jojo to try and confront Luis
on behalf of Emily and the other models who've spoken out.
(04:29):
We post a few images and pay a model promoter
thirty dollars to get a few thousand followers for Jojo,
and then after years of investigation, it's time.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Ah.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
I can't believe that this is all finally happening. Fore
so so surreal. We slide into Luis's DMS.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh my god, He's replied, I'm Ellie Flynn and from
this team at Novel.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
This is the final episode of The Bunny Trap, Episode seven,
What Happens in Vegas. It's morning in London and I've
(05:42):
just woken up to four messages from Luis Gomes.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
He tells Jojo Harri.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
My fake lamb model alias, that he's going to Vegas
the next day for two weeks of shoots and that she.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Can join too.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Okay, so I am sending Luis a message now to
try and arrange a meeting. So I've said, hey, I'm
really interested and can be in Vegas next week. It
feels so much as hinging on his reply to this message,
part of me is worried that he might get spooped.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Cent Ah. Just a few hours later, I like your image.
Speaker 6 (06:20):
Let me know if you are interested.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
He has said, Okay, let's do it. He tells me
his rates for a.
Speaker 6 (06:27):
Shoots two thousand, eight hundred and eighty. This includes the
production of photoshoot with forty edited photos three thousand, nine
hundred and eighty. This one includes also a behind the
sceneslip and for produced clips.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I'm not clear on what either of these options includes,
but either way, these prices seem really high. I tell
him it's too much money. Sure enough, Louise has a solution.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
Depending if we also do full only fans content, I
can do a discount, so you pay me only one
two hundred and fifteen.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I tell Louise I don't do only fans and that
I can't afford those rates. He drops his price again,
this time to six hundred and fifty dollars, and then weirdly,
he offers me a discounted hotel room.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
I have two apartments. I get you one only one
hundred dollars one for yourself.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
This is bizarre.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Why does he have two hotel rooms and why is
he offering one to Jojo. We don't want to pay
Luise any money for a shoot, and I'm obviously not
staying in his hotel room, so I ignore the offer.
But at least I now know where he's staying, the
Grand View Hotel, Las Vegas, so that's where my producer
Eleanor and I are headed.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
Oh my god, that's amazing. That is amazing. I can't believe.
Speaker 7 (07:56):
Fuck back.
Speaker 8 (07:56):
Okay, we've got to find out when he can meet,
but it's on.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
We did it, well done. Were done to Vegas.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Good morning, It's six thirty am in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
How are you feeling, Yeah, it's all right.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
By the time we can get out to Vegas, Luisa's
trip is nearly over, So even though we only arrived yesterday,
we have less than twelve hours before we have to
be back at the airport for our flight home, and
in that time we need to find Luise and confront
him about everything we know. We wrote to Luis about
a month ago, asking if he would do an interview
with us and outlining the allegations that we're going to
(08:52):
be making in the podcast, and we said that, you know,
we wanted to give him a fair opportunity to respond
to those accusations. We know he's read it from what
we can tell from an email tracker that we've got
multiple times. Actually he's never come back to us, so
this is that last ditch attempt to hold them accountable.
I guess the fear is that the weight of your
investigation and all of the people that you've spoken to,
(09:16):
rests on it, and I just want to get it right.
The sun is starting to rise, dusky pink over the
mountains lining the horizon. We've headed south of the city,
out towards scrublands on the edge of the desert.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
It's unlike anywhere I've ever been before.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
But right now I'm having a typical American experience. I'm
at a diner.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Okay, I'm going to just cook that there.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
Elena and I are meeting the security guards will be
accompanying us on our mission. There are three of them,
one woman and two men. I can't tell you their
names to protect their identities. But they're all ex cops.
Plus this is Vegas, so you know they've seen some shit.
Speaker 9 (09:59):
So I've been and here it was for thirty years,
so I've worked.
Speaker 10 (10:02):
I've know this town pretty well.
Speaker 3 (10:04):
The ex cops look like a group of middle aged
mates who've nipped out for an early breakfast. The two
guys in hoodies and jeans could easily be mistaken for tourists,
but the female agent it's more glamorous than you'd expect
for an next cop with bleach blonde hair. The difference
is these guys are all armed and take their mission
very seriously. I brief them about Luis over coffee, then
(10:25):
they get straight to work.
Speaker 11 (10:27):
I will call sexual assault detail here last weeks and.
Speaker 12 (10:30):
Run this by them and consue they have anything in.
Speaker 13 (10:33):
Reference with details like this going to happen.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
So, like I said in the metime, when we arrived
to scope out Luisa's hotel, we discover our first big problem. Literally,
I mean, it's just so much bigger than either of
us anticipated, and I cannot see how three security guards
are going to mark that whole area. The hotel spreads
across eight buildings, and some of the buildings have twenty
(11:00):
one floors. It has more than two thousand rooms. It's
fucking enormous, and everyone kept saying that it was big,
and I'd looked at it online, but I thought it
would all be contained and there would be sort of
one or a few funnels.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
In and out. But it's not like that at all.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
There is one main entrance and exit where if someone
was marking that, we would see him driving in or out.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
But there's so much space to.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
Cover and by the time he's in a car, if
he's driving out, that's no good to us what.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
We're going to do.
Speaker 14 (11:32):
Then.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
I'm an eternal optimist, but looking up at this complex,
I'm thinking we might be fucked. Being here is feeling really,
really overwhelming. I'm sort of looking around that we're just
surrounded by buildings and so many people constantly coming and going.
Definitely feels like finding him is going to be a
(11:54):
bit of a needle in a haystack. From Luise telling
Jojo that he was staying at this resort, the only
other intelligence we've been able to gather is from his
Instagram stories. His post suggests that he's been shooting with
two models all over Vegas. Our biggest clue is a
video they posted yesterday showing them driving out to the
(12:16):
canyons in a distinctive white jeep. We do endless laps
of the hotel car parks, hoping to spot the jeep,
but no luck. By ten am, three hours later, there's
still no sign of the car, the models, or Luise.
The waiting is so intense, but suddenly we get a clue.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
He's just posted an Instagram story.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
I shoot him a message from Drojo's account, telling him
I'm in Vegas and asking to me to wait and
hope that he replies to my message. The seconds tick
by as I wait for him to respond, waiting to
see if he replies. This message is actual in the
most tense part, because it's just like, if there's any
way of pinning him down to a specific location, that's
(13:06):
going to make our jobs so much easier. So I'm
just kind of like checking the phone every thirty seconds
to see if he's replied.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Oh, he's just like my message. He's just like my message.
I think he's going to reply. He's just replied. Who's
replied saying yes we can shoot? Oh my god, Okay,
so he's still here.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
Here.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
He's just replied, saying yes, we can shoot. Oh my god, okay,
so what do we do now? Let's wait and see
what he says. Oh my god, my heart's going it's racing.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Okay, he replies, but refuses to meet up without payment first.
But we don't want to hand over any money to Louise.
Speaker 5 (13:56):
He's very hung up on the money.
Speaker 8 (13:58):
Yeah, he's not going to meet us without the money.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
He's not.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
So me and Elena going to overdrive trying to formulate
a reply while our glamorous ex cop tries to keep
us calm.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
She knows how to play the game. Don't respond too quickly.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Yeah, we don't want to see guests for it. And
when you do reply.
Speaker 15 (14:20):
Brief We wanted to just try to get away from
getting him back to seeing amount money, try to keep
him away from that.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
I know he's going to go there.
Speaker 16 (14:32):
Yeah, but as long as we can keep this conversation
going without getting to that whole money thing.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
My heart is pounding.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
As a type out a reply, we reply now saying
like what time can you do and like try and
get some like logistics out of him.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
I just need to like work out timings and location first.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
Saying like Okay, yeah, I think I can maybe make
two pm work, Like, is it somewhere outside we can
do and try and get him to send us a.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Photo of where that could be and see if that
draws him out to her Pauls. Get some pictures.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
It'll give us like an idea of whereing this resort
he is. And if we think it's not weird to
be like, you know what, we're actually nearby, should we
just like pop in. I think this is it's the
best shot that we've had so far, off the shot, right, Yeah.
Speaker 16 (15:21):
Okay, I mean just be prepared for Yeah, now let's
say see some money.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Sure, how do you feel?
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I feel like a bit more optimistic than I not
for the rest of the fucking morning.
Speaker 2 (15:32):
I hit send. So what has happened?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
So Luis's replied saying I could do from two o'clock,
in which case we know he's probably going to be
here too. Luis has confirmed a time two pm, but
he still won't tell us where he's shooting until Jojo
pays a deposit.
Speaker 8 (15:50):
We messaged him as a last stitch attempt to see
if it would make any difference and if he'd like
to meet for a drink and he said, Ellie, can
you read he.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Said, he said, no, thank you, you take care. I'm
here for work and to do only paid photo shoot.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
But thank you. You have a good day. Smiley face,
sorry but not interested. Thanks for contacting me.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
And then we replied with understand, wish you could see,
but I get it truly lovely picks.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
And some flower emoji, which is a lovely choice. Yeah,
and he hasn't got back to us yet, so I
feel like he's not going to meet us.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah, this conversation is going nowhere. Now we're back to
plan B, which is sticking out the hotel with our
security team hoping to catch a glimpse of him and
then going and was confront him when we do. We're
going to keep an eye on his social media's. He's
been posting quite a lot. We know a lot of
the models that he's been choosing with this week, so
we're keeping an eye on their profiles as well, just
(16:50):
to see if we can get any location tags, any
idea of what he's going to be doing, where he
might be today.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
And it looks like she's about to bust into tears. Yeah,
I am nervous. I am nervous.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
And honestly, Eleanor's got good reason to be nervous because
after the break, the chase is on.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Oh my god, that looked like him.
Speaker 8 (17:15):
Yeah, fuck okay, shit shit shit, shit shit, he's alone.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Yeah, he's alone.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
It's really hot now, probably the heat of the day.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
And.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
We're still looking for him.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
I'm sitting in a car with my producer Eleanor. We're
dripping with sweat. This blistering Nevada heat is really not
being kind to adrenaline fuel podcasters from London, and we
know that Luis Gomes is going to be shooting in
and around Vegas soon, very soon. It feels like the
pressure is really on now because it feels like we've
(18:11):
got a very short window. It's now two o'clock nearly,
so if it gets to like half three four and
we've not seen him, I think we have to assume
that we've missed him leaving From an Instagram story, it
looks like Luis might have been traveling in a white jeep.
We think our best shot to find him is to
stake out the car park and hope he drives to
(18:34):
the shoot. So now all we can do is wait.
I feel like I'm in an extremely low budget spy movie,
attempting to look inconspicuous while we try to man as
many of the hotel exits as we can. Just then,
a white jeep slides past one of the entrances, and
just as quickly it slides out of.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
You guys.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
Gets in the car.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Ellie, that was them.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
There's some tea. We don't put the cart before the horse.
Speaker 8 (19:07):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Our agent gets on the phone to her colleague.
Speaker 7 (19:12):
Wait, jeep four bye, take a look at the mail
in it. It's a male subject wearing a ball cap.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
And after letting our third and final agent know we're
on the move, we lose sight of him for a moment.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
But then the jeep comes into vision again.
Speaker 5 (19:31):
Okay, I've got it up front.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And we're after it.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
This guy, this guy, I think he knows we're following him.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Poss on its frail. Now you chase the jeep into
the desert, getting closer.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh my god, that looked like him.
Speaker 5 (19:45):
Yeah, fuck, okay, shit, shit, shit, shit shit.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
He's alone.
Speaker 5 (19:49):
Yeah, he's alone.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
As we gain on him, he's winding and weaving, trying
to shake us.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This is Southern tense.
Speaker 5 (19:57):
Yeah, Okay, here's in front of me. I'm just gonna
pull right up on him. I'm not going to pull
him over, but I'm gonna pull right up him.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Suddenly the jeep speed drops. We lurched the side after him.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
Well he's breaking me. Let's see, he's gonna pull over.
Do you want me tactic?
Speaker 3 (20:16):
I think him just putt's going to see it him?
Speaker 5 (20:20):
You want to see.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
The agent slams on the brakes. No, it's not him,
it's not him.
Speaker 5 (20:28):
It's not him. Him. How could you tell?
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I could tell.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
I saw his face.
Speaker 13 (20:34):
It's not him.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
She said, it's not him.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
It wasn't Louise in the jeep.
Speaker 3 (20:40):
It was a random man in a baseball cap, looking
pretty freaked out as a middle aged woman and two
Brits pulled up beside him with their phones out. I mean,
he was acting shady. The more he tried to lose us,
the more certain we became that it was Louise. Turns
out there was a pretty underwhelming reason why he was
trying to shake us. Some digging from our agents found
(21:01):
that he'd been driving with a suspended license plate. No
wonder he looks so stressed, adrenaline worn off. We're feeling
pretty gutted. So it is now nearly four o'clock. We
met the security team at six foot five this morning,
so it's been like nine hours since we embedded and nothing,
(21:31):
no sign of him.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
It's so frustrating.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
And then we see that a model Luisa's been shooting
with has posted on Instagram. Look, she's just uploaded the
photo with him.
Speaker 5 (21:43):
Is that today?
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Just an hour ago?
Speaker 11 (21:48):
Really?
Speaker 8 (21:49):
Are do you recognize that place at all? I think
we should go to the desert. That's like, the desert
is a ghost town?
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Ah, it's not the desert, is it.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
Notice there's no hills there on flat land?
Speaker 2 (22:03):
Could it be there? This is a ghost town the vehicles, Oh,
it could be. It's a long shot.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
But time for one final Hell, Mary, we think they're
shooting in a ghost town, so we're off to find one.
After driving up a dirt track, we come across what
looks like the world's oldest saloon at the foot of
a hill leading up to Good Springs, Nevada, population one
(22:32):
hundred and twenty three.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Now I'm feeling properly on edge. This town is so
fucking creepy.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
I haven't been a single person is literally like the
scene of a horror film. How Emma has our investigation
ended up here in.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
A fucking ghost town at the edge of Nevada.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
It's not what I thought I would be doing when
I started investigating the glamor industry. There's an irony not
lost on me or Eleanor that our investigation into the
least regulated industry we've ever encountered is ending in the
real wild West. There are tantalizing signs everywhere, including another
(23:22):
white Jeep, but we know better than to fall for that.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Twice. We keep hoping Luise.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
Is just around the next corner, but he never is,
and as we pass yet another rundown building, even our
hard nosed agents are giving into wishful thinking.
Speaker 5 (23:38):
Do you think anybody is in here?
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Looks like said?
Speaker 5 (23:42):
I was thinking, And I was like, if it's a
firon apartment.
Speaker 7 (23:45):
I wonder if I showed him the picture and asked
him if if they would by chance?
Speaker 12 (23:50):
No, I mean, that's one in a billion.
Speaker 5 (23:54):
You're you're real heat, You're.
Speaker 16 (23:56):
Asking though, I'm OK, That's what I did the job
I always grasped for straws.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
We're about to call it a day when Luise posts
on Instagram again, Okay, we've got video.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
We've got a video.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
Okay, play out out a lake thing in the background.
Speaker 7 (24:11):
Yeap.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
This time he's out by a big body of water,
which one of our agents instantly recognizes.
Speaker 9 (24:20):
You know where.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
He said, it's Leap.
Speaker 7 (24:25):
Lake Merom, Lake Mead.
Speaker 5 (24:26):
And then you're you're being good and you'll.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Be an hour from there back to the airport.
Speaker 5 (24:32):
Ah oh shit.
Speaker 12 (24:37):
And by the time we get there, they could be
long gone.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
The lake is one hundred and one miles from end
to end and thirty miles across.
Speaker 12 (24:44):
There's very a little chance we would find him, even
if we.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Were there kneeling a haystag.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
This is so hard, this is so odd, and it's
so frustrating. It's so typical that we now are like,
we know where he is and it's too late. I
initially felt like I'd let Emily and all the other
models down. But what was I really hoping to get
from that confrontation. We've put detailed allegations to Luise multiple times,
(25:14):
We've called, emailed, texted. He knows we're making this podcast,
but he's never responded. That silence speaks volumes to me.
I'm also far from the first person to try and
confront Luise. Nearly every model who you've heard in this
series spoke to him first, and he never took accountability.
(25:36):
To our knowledge, the only time Luise has addressed the
British women's allegations of sexual abuse was in an email
chain from twenty twenty two. It was sent to us
by another man in the industry, a small time magazine publisher.
Here's an excerpt from the emails.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
Hello there, my name is Louise Gomez. I want to
write you because I want to show you that all
these girls are adults. They do everything because they want,
so here we go.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
Luise said that anything that happened between him and the
models was consential. He talks about models sending him explicit
content as evidence of this consent. But I've seen her
as receipts. I've heard her account of how he got
hold of her content by pressuring her and dangling the
promise of a publication in Playboy in front of her.
(26:27):
In the email chain I've seen, Luise also shares screenshots
of conversations with models as evidence of consent. These are
often from before the shoots took place, and they're frank
discussions about sex work and OnlyFans and what these models
do online. Using these messages as evidence of consent for
alleged abuse makes me feel deeply uneasy. It seems as
though Luise is using the fact that they do sex
(26:49):
work as evidence that they were up for anything. This
makes me realize that any confrontation I might have held
with Luise in Vegas was not going to bring the
model's closure. And the more I think about it, the
less I want this ending to be about Luise at all,
because platforming bad men is never what this series has
been about. I want a different resolution, something that makes
(27:12):
a real difference to the women I've met along this journey,
and that will hopefully protect more women in the future.
(27:39):
I turned to Luis's Patreon, the subscription site where he's
been posting models explicit content online, in some cases despite
their please not to. For years, that Patreon account has
haunted models. Photos taken on shoots with Luise, allegedly under
pressure or alongside sexual abuse have been given a second
life online, which Luise's thousands of dollars for.
Speaker 12 (28:03):
Hi Allen, I'm Amaya, an assistant producer.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
We get in touch with Patreon to let them know
about the allegations.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
We've heard about Luise.
Speaker 12 (28:11):
Investigating serious allegations by one glamor photographer. We have been
informed that this photographer has been using his Patreon account
to post content of models, including explicit images and videos,
which he had been sent privately on the condition the
content was for his eyes only.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
The models claim that Patreon begins an investigation of their own.
About a month later, Amalia gets an update from Ellen
sat White, the head of communications and US policy lead
at Patreon at the time.
Speaker 12 (28:41):
So what can you tell us?
Speaker 13 (28:44):
Yeah, so I can't talk about the specific creator, but
let me say it in this way. The account was
removed for violations of our pornography policy.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Luise's Patreon is down and it's because of us.
Speaker 13 (29:02):
It triggered our review of this creator. Yes, we were
not aware of it until you reported it to me.
We removed this creator for having violated our policies regarding
pornographic content, and this was not their first violation.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
Ellen tells us that Patreon has taken steps to make
sure that Luis can never bring his account back.
Speaker 17 (29:29):
If they were to launch another account, it would have
to be substantively different than the account that they have currently.
Speaker 12 (29:40):
So can we then assume that Universe one three seven
will not make it comeback to Patreon without Patreon's review.
Speaker 5 (29:50):
That's right.
Speaker 12 (29:51):
That makes me.
Speaker 6 (29:52):
That makes me feel really good.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I can't wait to tell Emily the news. So we
managed to get his patron removed.
Speaker 14 (30:02):
Yes, yes, Oh my god, Oh I love that.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Thank you.
Speaker 14 (30:09):
That's that's so relieving. That's really good.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
That's so it's weird.
Speaker 14 (30:15):
It's like a it's not the outcome necessary that you know,
you can go to court and you can deal with
this stuff, but at the end of the day, if
it's gone, it's gone. It's a huge weight that's been
lifted knowing that that's not there anymore. And I wouldn't
have been able to do that myself. So I really
appreciate that.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
Speaking to Emily again got me thinking about what justice
actually means in a world where successful sexual assault prosecutions
are pathetically low, where sex workers are overlooked and ignored,
while women are slut shamed and victim blaine over and
over again. Maybe this podcast in itself is a form
of justice. That first email I received back in twenty
(31:03):
twenty tipping me off about this story was sent to
newspaper desks all over the world, and to my knowledge,
I was the only person who responded, which unfortunately isn't
surprising to me. After all, when was the last time
you heard a mainstream media story from a sex worker's perspective.
I can't help thinking that if these women worked in
(31:24):
a different industry, more people would have listened. Sex workers
and glamor models are no less deserving of our care
than anyone else. They also need respect, boundaries, and understanding.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
In fact, they might need it more.
Speaker 14 (31:43):
People need to realize that just because we're models or
glamor models, or happy to do topless or nude shoots,
it doesn't matter any type of photography, that it's not
a free pass for you to touch us, breathe on us,
get within an inch of our bodies.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
I catch up with Herrah one last time too.
Speaker 18 (32:04):
I'm so grateful that you've listened, and yeah, you took
it on board, and that you guys have been doing
so much because.
Speaker 2 (32:12):
It's not just him.
Speaker 18 (32:12):
This could open people's eyes up to other photographers. You know,
this could have like a ripple effect. People might speak
out more about it.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
I hope so.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, I mean, the story is always felt important to me,
and I think people will listen, and I hope it
does change things, and that is what I want from this.
This series has always been about the models and for
the models, so I'd like to hand over these final
moments to some of the women at the heart of
this story who bravely shared their experiences in the hopes
(32:45):
that it might make the glamour industry safer for everyone.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
What would I like to say to Luis.
Speaker 11 (32:59):
Definitely he opened my eyes to the dark side of
the industry that I didn't know was a thing really
until then. Thank you for ruining my life at the time,
but Ressis Shark, you haven't ruined it in the long run.
Thanks for making me a stronger person.
Speaker 18 (33:18):
I actually have nothing. I have nothing to say to him,
not a single thing.
Speaker 14 (33:24):
I hope you realize this one day, the negative impact
that he's having on young women in this industry, and
hopefully he stops doing it. And if this podcast manages
to reach him in some way, then I hope he
takes it all on board, and I hope he is
apologetic and remorseful for everything that he's put everyone through.
Speaker 11 (33:41):
He seems to have got away with too much, so
I hope he's calmer catches up to him soon.
Speaker 10 (33:50):
I am so grateful.
Speaker 14 (33:52):
For all the girls that have come forward and been vulnerable,
including myself. I'm proud of myself for talking through everything.
Speaker 10 (33:59):
It's still very vivid to.
Speaker 14 (34:00):
Me, everything that had happened. I could recount the entire
thing over and either again. It's not something that I've forgotten.
All that's diminished of gone over the time, and I
can only think, if that's happened with how I feel,
then I'm sure it's the same for the other girlies.
Speaker 10 (34:14):
Knowing that we're all in this together and having a
community of understanding and supporting and helping and lifting each
other up and growing with each other means the world
to me. I believe every woman on this planet Earth
needs embracing, brave, understanding and supportive women around them.
Speaker 4 (34:37):
Women support each other and we lean on each other.
We're our soulmates and we're our cheerleaders. Women supporting women
will actually change the world.
Speaker 11 (34:50):
What are you up to now?
Speaker 2 (34:52):
So my life has totally changed.
Speaker 11 (34:55):
I have just been actually blessed with the best gift
I've ever had and became a mom, and I can't
wait to just continue loving her protecting her. So right
now in life, I'm in such a good place.
Speaker 9 (35:11):
I'm now a videographer and photographer for female content creators
in the adult industry. I provide that safe space for
them that I didn't have back then.
Speaker 14 (35:25):
I'm going to be walking in Miami Swim Week, which
is an amazing opportunity. I never thought I would have
the confidence to do that or be in front of
photographers and stuff.
Speaker 10 (35:34):
Again, I am thriving in my life. I'm learning, I'm evolving.
Speaker 14 (35:42):
What do I want people to take away from hearing
these stories?
Speaker 10 (35:45):
For people to get a reality check on what the
modeling industry really is.
Speaker 4 (35:50):
You know, there's a lot of evil and darkness in
the industry, and that darkness is being brought into the
light and exposed.
Speaker 11 (35:58):
I got taught to be quiet, keep your mouth shut.
If you see something, it's you that's going to look
like the bad person.
Speaker 2 (36:07):
No one's going to believe you.
Speaker 11 (36:08):
And that's what people do to try and keep people silenced.
If anything does, ever, haven't you just know that there
is people out there and there is support.
Speaker 13 (36:18):
Don't think you have.
Speaker 11 (36:19):
To do something just to get to where you want
to be. If it doesn't feel right, listen to your
heart and don't feel pressured, because the right opportunities are
always come back around.
Speaker 14 (36:29):
I just hope people are a little bit more open minded.
When you see a model's photo, you wonder, actually, did
you have a nice time.
Speaker 2 (36:35):
At that shoot?
Speaker 10 (36:36):
Was she okay at that shoot?
Speaker 12 (36:38):
You never know.
Speaker 14 (36:39):
We are glamor models first and foremost some of us,
do you only fans? Yes, we do consent to being
seen nude or in lingerie or scantily clad, and that's
absolutely fine.
Speaker 4 (36:49):
That doesn't mean that we are deserving.
Speaker 14 (36:50):
Of sexual assault. We are not here to be exploited
for our content. We are not just objects of sexual desire.
We are human beings. We deserve respect the same as
anybody else would. I feel a bit of closure.
Speaker 11 (37:06):
I feel like I can finally start closing the doors
on what happened was and help empower myself to feeling
like it wasn't my fault. Also feel very empowered that
the podcast has gone out. This is all ever wanted
and more for it all to come out and to
spread awareness.
Speaker 9 (37:32):
If this helps just one person, I'd be happy.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
We contacted Luis Gomez multiple times for comment, but we
never heard back. He has not been charged with any
crimes and is presumed innocent under the law. We also
saw a comment from Playboy USA. They declined our request
for an interview, but stay that they asked their licensees
to blacklist the photographer mentioned in this series and that
they prohibit paid to play the practice of charging models
(38:07):
to appear in magazines. The Bonnie Trap is produced by Novel.
For more from Novel visit novel dot Audio. The show
is hosted by me Ellie Flynn. You can find me
on social media by searching my name that's eb l
(38:30):
i E Fly double n. This season is produced by
Eleanor Biggs and written by me Ellie Flynn and Eleana Biggs.
Our assistant producer is Amalia Sortland, with additional production from
Lee Meyer and Saskia Collette. Additional research by Valeria Rocker.
The editors are Georgia Moody and Austin Mitchell. Our executive
producers are Max O'Brien and Craig Strachan. Our fact checker
(38:52):
is Fendall Fulton. Production management from Scherie Houston and Charlotte Wolf.
Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempt and Nicholas Alexander.
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander, Elena Biggs and Max O'Brien.
Original music composed and performed by Jake Long, and additional
production by Nicholas Alexander, Louisa Gerstein, and Daniel Kempson. The
(39:14):
series artwork was designed by Christina Limcole. Willard Foxtons, Creative
Director of Development. Izzy was played by Flora and Claire.
Luis Gomeres was played by Juan Solari. Special thanks to
the following people to Colleague's past and present who have
helped bring this story to life. Anna Sinfield, Joe Wheeler,
Jakob Tirevich, David Waters, Naomi Clark, Laura Zailli, Robbie mckinnis,
(39:39):
Frankie Nichols, Julia Bromberg, Harry Cook, Mice, Lee Raw, Tom Wright,
Sasha Baker, John Joe Devlin, Vanessa Silva, Anna piel Mazzini,
and other journalists we've worked with who wished to remain anonymous,
to the legal and security teams we've worked with who
have helped keep us safe while reporting on this story,
(40:01):
as well as our production psychologist, Charlotte Armitage. Finally, telling
a story like this would be impossible without the trust
and bravery of the people at its heart. So a
massive thanks to the women who shared their stories with
us and the many anonymous sources who provided invaluable information, help,
knowledge and insight. This would not have been possible without you.
Speaker 1 (40:34):
Novel
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