If there is anything sicker than abusing underage girls or paying very young women (very young) to satisfy desperate older men, it is using the lure of drugs while doing so. One might damage a woman’s self-esteem beyond full recovery, she may have intimacy issues, humiliation (once it goes public), and now the very real specter of addiction.

According to The Daily Beast, Joel Greenberg, Matt Gaetz’s co-conspirator, had a pattern in grooming these young women. As we all know, just because a woman may be slightly older than 18 (barely), it doesn’t suddenly erase the power imbalance that erodes consent, nor does it mean that a significant amount of grooming doesn’t go into the process, often involving drugs. Some of these “women” (at least 18 years old) were still in high school when getting caught up with Greenberg.

Twelve women agreed to talk with The Daily Beast about their experiences with Greenberg and his friends under the condition of anonymity. All of them said it was their understanding that Greenberg—who until his indictment last June served as the elected tax collector for Seminole County, Florida—was paying them at least in part for sex, going as far back as 2013. Ten women told The Daily Beast they felt pressure at one time or another to drink or take drugs as an entree to s*x. And all 12 said Greenberg encouraged them to invite friends, either for himself or men he knew.

Although none of the women claim Greenberg s*xually assaulted them, one woman tells the publication that Greenberg “plied” her with drugs to overcome her resistance to his pressure. Multiple other women described the situation just as one might expect:

Others relayed that they had consensual s*x for money. But some characterized their experiences as a trauma.

Of course, it can be traumatic. No, these women are not entirely innocent. No one forced them into the situation, they could have reached out for help, they did gain, whether in money or the drugs, they are not entirely innocent (Except the child, who cannot form consent with a man twice her age and thus was “forced.”) But it is also critical to appreciate that many of these young women didn’t know what they were getting into when agreeing to meet (at least not in the entirety) and thus even their mistakes should be seen in that light. And there is this:

“I was under the influence of so many drugs,” this one woman said. “I would not have agreed to the other woman being there. I wasn’t really in a position to say I didn’t want to do this. I wasn’t in my right mind. I was in over my head and it was kind of scary.”

Saying “I was in over my head,” is another way of saying, “I didn’t believe I could say no, or get out. That is scary”. It damned sure would be.

Whether it is covered by the criminal code or not, responsible adults know that drugging women, even when they agree (perhaps out of fear) creates an obvious imbalance in the old saying “consenting adults.” One adult isn’t consenting to the physical demands so much as craving payment. One should also harbor some special contempt for middle aged men introducing the youngest of “young women” (18-22) to addicting drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, all for the physical pleasure.

None of us will ever make the mistake of believing, “Okay, that’s it, we’ve heard the worst.” There always seems to be more.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak