Cover photo from Pinellas County Jail. 3 minute read.
Recently, an attorney from Florida was accused of paying female inmates to take explicit photos and videos with him for his “Girls In Jail” porn series.
Andrew Spark, age 54, used his position multiple times to gain access to more than one women’s jail and solicit sex from inmates. He’s accused of soliciting sex from at least two incarcerated women from Pinellas County Jail, and one incarcerated woman at Falkenberg Road Jail. He was arrested in December after deputies at the jail got a tip of his activities and caught him “in the act.” They walked in on him in the attorney visitation room at Pinellas County Jail with a 28-year-old female inmate that he apparently knew previously, according to a report by Huffington Post.
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri alleges that in return for the sex on camera or photos of sex acts, Spark would offer to put money in their commissary accounts—about $10, or $30 to $40 at a time, the sheriff said.
Photo from Pinellas County Jail
The attorney was charged with exposure of sexual organs, introduction/possession of contraband into a county detention facility, and soliciting for prostitution. He was freed a short time later after posting $5,300 bail.
Related: Life Mimics Porn: USA Gymnastics Team Doctor On Trial For Sexually Abusing 140 Gymnasts
Watch the local news report of this unbelievable incident, here:
Spark was able to get the women alone in private rooms by using his attorney visitation rights—even with inmates who weren’t his clients, according to WFTS TV.
Investigators alleged Spark and the woman he was caught with had at least six encounters between June and his Dec. 17 arrest. None of the women whom Spark allegedly solicited will be charged with crimes.
The attorney allegedly met one of the incarcerated women at a porn convention years prior to soliciting her.
Disturbing On So Many Levels
There are so many disturbing levels to this unbelievable story. It is unthinkable to us that an attorney would allegedly take advantage of his position to exploit vulnerable, incarcerated women in the name of sexual entertainment.
But the sad fact is, porn normalizes otherwise unethical and unacceptable behavior, and packages it as “adult entertainment.” And this “entertainment” is nothing like the world has ever seen before, and yet it’s accepted without question in our society. But why?
Because porn is all about immediate gratification, no matter who is hurt in the process or what laws are broken to get there. The consumer likely wouldn’t take into consideration the extremely sketchy circumstances surrounding the production of these videos, or how it’s essentially filmed prostitution between an attorney and incarcerated women. Or, what’s worse is that his “Girls In Jail” series’ marketability may have gone up because it’s “real,” with real inmates and a real lawyer. Not cool.
“Real” Sells
In today’s extreme mainstream porn world, the illusion of scripted fantasy isn’t enough—now, it’s getting more popular for “real” videos of exploitation to be sought after and demanded. Consider the fact that not long ago, CNN’s reported that a man set up a fake sleep study and made $100,000 dollars for selling his videotapes of his raping of 100 unconscious and drugged women to porn sites that then circulated the videos. Or that there’s a growing underground market in India for real recorded rapes. Or that the world’s most popular porn sites boast having thousands of “real” anal rape videos.
We didn’t get here by accident. As a society, we are generally too accepting of the porn industry pushing content to the extreme, and inspiring others (like Andrew Spark) to do the same. But no more.
The time to speak out is now. If you’re not okay with the porn industry getting a free pass to promote exploitive, unethical content, say so. Speak up, and speak out, and partner with us to stop the demand for sexual exploitation.
What You Can Do
The good news is that in response to the unprecedented spread of pornography there are an unprecedented number of resources and people who want to help, whether by spreading facts about pornography or helping those who feel caught in its undertow. It may not feel like it makes a big difference, but sharing content like this article helps to promote a ripple effect of change in society.
Spark Conversations
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