Taekwondo Olympic hopeful appears to have been too clever by a half.  Read the whole story at Yahoo News…

Olympian Hoped Brothel Would Fund 2012 Bid

A New Zealand olympian could be taken to court after it emerged he opened up a brothel to fund his London 2012 Games campaign.

Logan Campbell, a taekwondo competitor, started up the business in Auckland with his friend, Hugo Phillips, earlier this year and wanted to use the profits to help him get to London in three years time.

Campbell, 23, hoped to raise NZ$300,000 from what he calls a “high-class gentleman’s club” so his parents would not be burdened with the cost and he could concentrate on training.

However, the New Zealand Olympic Committee have now written to Campbell demanding he cut the link between his business and his Olympic campaign or face legal action.

NZOC secretary general Barry Maister said he did not want his country’s sport to be associated with Campbell’s trade.

“Based on the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, we would place your actions as totally inconsistent with these values,” Maister said in a letter to Campbell.

“Your open solicitation of ‘clients’ for your ‘business’ while using the Olympic or Olympian connection must cease immediately, or the NZOC will be forced to consider taking legal action against you.”

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Read more at Yahoo News UK & Ireland…

Sex workers targeted ahead of 2012

Mobile phone networks have been asked to cut off pimps and prostitutes ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

City Hall bosses called on top phone companies, including Vodafone, 02, 3, Virgin and T-Mobile, to help crack down on prostitution and trafficking in the lead up to the sporting extravaganza.

They want help targeting numbers advertised on thousands of sex calling cards that litter phone boxes throughout the capital.

Kit Malthouse, deputy mayor for policing, said the mobile phone numbers are a valuable resource for those behind the sex industry.

He said an agreement must be reached between mobile phone networks and police that sees them taken out of use as soon as they are identified.

Mr Malthouse said: “If you are an American tourist and you walk into a telephone box you would think it was a sex shop.

Read the whole story at The Mirror…

Prostitute fears over London 2012 Olympics

Police officers have gone undercover to tackle sex trafficking in the areas of London staging the 2012 Olympic games.

The Met Police clubs and vice unit is spending £600,000 on the operation to rescue young women sold into prostitution.

Police believe there will be a huge rise in the number of Eastern Europeans trafficked into the five boroughs ahead of the games. Det Chief Supt Richard Martin said: “Our priority is making sure the victims are rescued.”

Read the whole story at The BBC News…

Games may spark prostitution rise

London could see an increase in prostitution and sex trafficking in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.

A report by the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) warned the increase in would put women at risk.

Thousands of site workers, spectators and athletes are expected to fuel the sex industry boom.

During the Athens Games, sex trafficking almost doubled and there were reports of sex attacks in the athletes’ village at Sydney in 2000.

A small increase in the number of trafficked women working in the five Olympic host boroughs has already been noted.

Lynne Abrams, of the MPA, said despite warnings, people responsible for security during the Olympics have not yet formed plans to tackle the issue.

“There is considerable international evidence to suggest that such an increase in population in the context of the Games may have an impact on women’s safety.”

She added: “The eyes of the world will be on London during 2012 and the possibility of damage to the reputation of not only the Met but London and the UK is considerable.”

Officers will be trained to spot women who are forced to work as prostitutes and the police are also expecting a rise in domestic attacks, rape and sexual assaults following increased drinking during the Games.

Read the whole story at Stuff.co.nz…

Olympian uses brothel for fundraising
By Tony Wall

Logan Campbell had a dilemma. The Beijing Olympian’s funding had dried up and he was in danger of missing the London Olympics in 2012.

So the 23-year-old came up with an outrageous plan – he traded his taekwondo outfit for a sharp suit and became a pimp.

Campbell and business partner Hugo Phillips, 20, last week launched a “high-class gentleman’s club” (read brothel) near Auckland’s infamous K Rd, and Campbell hopes to get to London off the earnings of prostitution.

He finished in the top 16 in the featherweight division at Beijing, after losing his first match against reigning world champion Yu-Chi Sung, of Taiwan, who finished with the bronze medal.

Campbell said Sung is a “movie star” in his home country and “never has to worry about funding”.

Campbell’s Beijing campaign cost about $150,000 in the preceding years, most of it eaten up by travel costs as he competed at events around the world. Most of the money came from his parents his father, Max, an auctioneer, worked two jobs to get his son to the Olympics. Campbell said he was sick of being a burden on his parents.

He received a $15,000 “performance enhancement grant” from government sports funding body Sparc for finishing in the top 16 at Beijing, but Taekwondo New Zealand (TNZ) has suspended the funding because Campbell has not been competing.

Campbell’s plan is to take a couple of years off, hopefully earn up to $300,000 from the brothel, and launch his London bid in 2011. He believes with that kind of money behind him, he will be a serious medal prospect.

But his unorthodox fundraising plan has not gone down well with his national body.

TNZ funding manager John Schofield said that although it would not affect his membership, it would be taken into account when considering him for international selection.

“Selection takes into account not just performance but also the athlete’s ability to serve as an example to the youth of the country.”

The Olympics brings a special sort of extracurricular activity with it.  Read the whole story at Yahoo News UK…

London Olympic mega-brothels a worry for clerics

Church of England dioceses are to call for a government crackdown on human trafficking in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics to prevent a repeat of the “mega brothels” set up in German cities for the 2006 World Cup.

Church members will discuss the matter at a General Synod next month following a motion set down by the dioceses of Newcastle and Winchester.

“We do not want this same kind of thing for London 2012,” said the Revd. Canon Michael Webb of Newcastle Diocese.

“Anything like slavery is wrong, but as Christians we are concerned that this is not how God treats people.”

The dioceses called for the government, police and officials to combat the “evil trade” of trafficking and forced prostitution through legislation and enforcement.

They pointed to the World Cup in Germany, where, they said, city officials adopted a “pragmatic” approach toward catering for the sexual desires of the estimated three million football fans who attended the tournament.

“Sex huts” or “sex garages” for prostitution were set up, filled with 40,000 extra prostitutes, while special licenses were issued allowing prostitutes to offer sex on the street, they said in a background paper.

Some studies however suggested that prostitution levels may have in fact decreased during the World Cup.

The dioceses also pointed to a campaign to legalize prostitution and brothels in South Africa in time for the 2010 World Cup.

“We wish to support and encourage H.M. Government to do everything in its power to ensure that nothing like this is allowed to happen in our cities,” the dioceses added.