Another of Rekers' Alleged Rentboys Steps Forward

By Joseph Erbentraut in News on May 12, 2010 7:40PM

Another of fallen anti-gay leader George Rekers' alleged rentboys came forward late last week, claiming that Rekers hired him for a tantalizing night of "tickle touch" at the O'Hare Hyatt Regency back in the summer of 1992. The story raises the question: exactly how many "luggage handlers" has the convert-the-gays proponent hired through the years? Former prostitute-porn star Carl Shepherd, also known as "Chaz," reportedly placed in ad promoting his services in Gay Chicago Magazine, an ad which Chaz claims Rekers responded to. Now 41, Shepherd today lives in Lake Villa. Gawker has the juicy details of what went down from there:

"'I'm looking to spend an hour with a smooth young man for an… intimate massage. Nude. I'm kinda vanilla—I just want light touching, not sex.' He knew the lingo. It seemed like he'd done this before ... He lay on the bed, stomach down. I climbed astride him and started massaging his neck. 'Lighter, just run your fingers over my skin. Like a kind of tickle touch.'

So I did. I ran my fingers down his spine. He was squirming and pushing his ass up in the air, because he wanted me to touch him there. Eventually I'd touched him over every inch of his body with the same light touch. He got very aroused for an old guy—I was impressed actually."

In response to the Gawker story, the Rekers camp issued a brief statement that "[Rekers] has never been to the Hyatt Regency Hotel at O'Hare Airport in Chicago" and he maintains "Lucien" was hired for a 10-day European vacation first to "lift Rekers' luggage" and later for gayness treatment. In order to battle the "false media reports," he has also resigned from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH).

Rekers is the author of many books including Growing Up Straight: What Families Should Know About Homosexuality and has served as an expert witness testifying against gay adoption in trials in Arkansas and Florida. Of his testimony in the Florida trial, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cindy Lederman said:

"Dr. Rekers’ testimony was far from a neutral and unbiased recitation of the relevant scientific evidence. Dr. Rekers’ beliefs are motivated by his strong ideological and theological convictions that are not consistent with the science. Based on his testimony and demeanor at trial, the court cannot consider his testimony to be credible nor worthy of forming the basis of public policy."