Suspended sentence for male escort 'introducer'

A civil servant who was exposed on RTE’s 'Primetime' to be running a male escort service through a gay dating website has been given a suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Eugene Leach (aged 48) was contacted by journalists through the website Gaydar and acted as a "go-between" in finding male prostitutes. He took a cut of the fee charged by the men.

Leach, of St Donoghs Road, Donaghmede, pleaded guilty to controlling or directing the activities of prostitutes for gain on dates between May to July 2005.

Judge Patrick McCartan said this case differed from the "typical pimp" in that Leach was taking a commission as "introducer" and there was no coercion or bullying involved. He noted Leach had lost his job of 22 years in the public service as a result of the offence.

He imposed a six-month sentence which he suspended on condition Leach did not became involved in this kind of activity again. He said the sentence reflected the nature of the offence at the low end of the scale.