Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine Novvember 2015 Diversity Rules Magazine wel- comes Jona- than Crutchley as its feature guest in the November is- sue. Crutchley is a founding partner and owner of the world's largest gay brands that includes Manhunt and Jack'd. He has joined the advisory board of e National Co- alition of Rent Boys & Allies, an organization ad- vocating for the legal rights of male escort work- ers. e group formed in response to the August 25th raid on Rentboy.com in New York City by the NYPD and Homeland Security. JRK: Can you give us an idea of who Jonathan Crutchley is -- where you are from and all that good introductory stuff. JC: My family is from the New York City area, and I settled in Boston, MA in 1975 after college, where I had a successful career in finance and real estate. I in- vested in a telephone chat service for gay men in 1992, which turned into an internet web company, Online Buddies, Inc. by 2001. Our products include Man- hunt and Jack'd, helping gay men to chat and meet through the internet and mobile phone. Our com- pany serves the gay community and I am a proud supporter of gay civil rights. JRK: Before we get into your joining the Advisory Board of e National Coalition of Rent Boys & Allies (NCORB), can you provide us with some background on the August 25th raid of Rentboy. com in New York City by the NYPD and the Office of Homeland Security? JC: I have a suggestion. Why don't you ask the Home- land Security people if they have run out of terrorists to catch or travelers to grope in airports? It's beyond me why this Federal agency has any involvement with an escort advertising service in New York. Rentboy. com has been in business for 19 years, and the local law enforcement authorities haven't had a problem with it. Why should the Federal Government? JRK: You, along with many others, believe this raid violated the constitutional rights of US citizens. e NY Times Editorial Board even called the raid "peculiar." Can you expand upon why you think it was violation of constitutional rights and what you feel the real motivation was for this raid? JC: e real motivation for this raid is this: Govern- ment always wants to get bigger. Just as the prohibition of drugs has totally failed to solve the drug problem, it has created secure lifetime employment with benefits and pensions for those who work in the police, courts, and prisons, and millions of Americans are locked up because of addiction. Likewise, sex work is the oldest profession, and it will never go away, but the Govern- ment can create employment by prosecuting people in this business and locking them up. Nothing good will come to society from this, but it gives government em- ployees work to do. JRK: You have stated that you founded your com- pany "in the name of individual privacy and sexual freedom" and that "in the name of individual lib- erty, the Federal government needs to do the job it was given to do by the Constitution." What specifi- cally do you feel the "job" is that was given to the government by the Constitution as it relates to this case? JC: Our Federal Government is a limited government. e Constitution recites a short list of reasons for its existence. ese include having an army, navy, postal service….. ings like that. Anything else should be left to state and local governments, and to the people. Defending Individual Privacy and Sexual Freedom An Interview With Jonathan Crutchley By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher

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