A professor of physics at Farleigh Dickinson, an independent university located in New Jersey, has been accused of promoting prostitution through the website that he created. The professor does not dispute the fact that he created the website and ran it from his home in New York. What he did dispute was the criminal facet of the website.
According to the professor, it provided a safe place for men to find females who would be willing to engage in sexual companionship. In fact, the professor said that the website was more of a hobby for him from which he never gained any monetary profit.
Over 1,200 men have used to website, called Southwest Companion, to connect with approximately 200 women. The over one thousand users could not just sign onto the website. They first had to become a “verified” user by connecting with one of the females. Once verified, a user could become trusted and gain access to message boards and a larger access to the females who joined the site.
The professor’s distinguished background includes a master’s degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from Yeshiva. It is unclear as to when the investigation into the website began, but it followed the professor down to his vacation home in the Southwest.
The website owner was arrested this past Sunday, June 19 while on a break at his house in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The professor now faces over 40 counts of promoting prostitution, amongst other charges, for the operation of his website.
Source: Business Insider, “This New Jersey Physics Professor Was Just Arrested For Running A Prostitution Website,” Leah Goldman, 21 June 2011