TAMPA, Fla. — A popular gentlemen’s club in Tampa is accused of allowing an underage girl with emotional and developmental issues to work as an exotic dancer.
- Complaint says older man "indoctrinated" alleged victim into adult, sexualized lifestyle
- Club did not verify alleged victim's age, according to lawsuit
- More Hillsborough County stories
Michael Dolce, an attorney who represents the now-20-year-old woman filed a criminal complaint this week in the 13th Judicial Circuit, claiming the management at Scores Tampa on Dale Mabry did not independently confirm her age or identity.
Dolce on Thursday outlined the details in the complaint, blaming an older man who allegedly helped the teenager run away from home. The complaint alleges that older man "indoctrinated her into an adult sexualized lifestyle" and "manipulated her into engaging in sexual performances" when she was just 17.
“He bought a bunch of clothes for stripper purposes and fed her some dinner and took her down the street to adult clubs until they found one that was willing to hire her as a dancer, and that was Scores,” said Dolce. “She entered Scores at approximately 9:00 o’clock in the evening and by 9:30 she was on the stage."
Dolce claims managers at the club never verified her age and knew she was a minor at the time of her hire. That is typical of sex trafficking, according to Dotti Groover Skipper, founder of HeartDance, an organization that helps exploited individuals leave the adult industry.
“Underage girls do fly under the radar in these kinds of situations,” Groover Skipper said. “There are so many layers to this issue, but basically human trafficking is in the business of exploiting vulnerabilities. “
But Luke Lirot, a Clearwater attorney who represents Scores, denies any wrongdoing. Lirot said managers helped with the prosecution of the alleged sex trafficker.
“The Tampa Police Department did an extensive and thorough investigation that both my clients cooperated in fully,” said Lirot. “If they had thought for one second that this young lady was disabled, the perpetrators of this crime — who are not even named in the complaint — would have been charged with the abuse of a disabled person in addition to all the other charges that they received.”
Lirot is now preparing a third-party lawsuit against the man accused of trafficking that young woman. Dolce tells us he also plans to take legal action against his client's alleged trafficker.