There are some jobs that make you question their legitimacy, and “brothel buster investigator” is one of them. Are you wondering if there is an actual investigator of brothels? So were we. The Sydney Morning Herald set it straight on Sunday, Sept. 21, when they interviewed a man who claims to be just that, a brothel buster investigator.
The 60-year-old man who went by Fred Allen for the article said that as a brothel buster investigator he is sent into potential illegal prostitution establishments by various councils to report back on his findings. In short Allen gets paid thousands for “paid sex with prostitutes and ratepayers foot the bill.”
Live Leak gave a description of what the job was about a few years ago. The ad for the position of “brothel buster investigator” was put up by Lyonswood Investigations and Forensic Group, Sydney, in late January 2012. The ad stated that “applicants were required to be unmarried and preferably single, to be willing to have protected sexual intercourse with prostitutes and to provide sworn evidence in court.” They must also have their “private investigator licence, awareness of occupational health and safety, and good command of written and spoken English.”
Lyonswood operations manager Lachlan Jarvis stated that this legal service required the investigator to enter “suspected illegal brothels” and determine if sexual services are being offered in the establishment. Javis said,”Some [jobs] require the offering of sexual services, some actually require the partaking of sexual services … because it is considered the most convincing evidence.”
During these stings, prostitution isn’t the only crime investigators come across. The agents also run across sex trafficking, weapons, improper fire exits, breaches of health and safety, and incorrect disposal of waste.
When the wanted ad hit in 2011, there were a ton of applicants who were willing to engage in sexual activities with prostitutes for pay. But, when it came to choosing a person or the role, Jarvis felt there was only one person for the job, Allen. “He had his private investigator’s license, his oral and written English was excellent, he was willing to appear in court if needed … and he was single,” Jarvis said.
Since Allen has been hired the 60-year-old former taxi driver has worked with 10 Sydney councils on 60 “jobs.” In all but three cases there were sexual services being offered. The establishments were said to be “‘clean and comfortable’ environments staffed almost exclusively by Asian girls who were in Australia to ‘study English’.” He insists that there is nothing out of the ordinary with his visits to these establishments — he is just a regular customer.
The investigator said that he works about once every three weeks. He has told one of his friends about his job, but hasn’t told his sons. When he passes Allen hopes they will get a good laugh out of it. But for now he is keeping it his secret. “Never in a million years would I have imagined a job like this existed, let alone me doing it,” the Allen said. “It’s a strange world for sure.”
