back to lead story Where the Boys Are

LEAD STORY SIDEBAR Club Ped Prosecutors say their investigation of Lanny Swerdlow involves Internet child pornography. Nobody knows where all the child pornography flooding the Internet comes from, but leaders of a federal task force in Portland think they might have an idea about some of it. Last May, agents raided the home and business of local nightclub owner Lanny Swerdlow. Although no individual was named on the search warrant, the move followed 20 years of skirmishing between the outspoken Swerdlow and Portland police. According to sources close to the investigation, the cops got a break when they learned that Richard Ready, who had previously been convicted of child pornography charges, was living in the basement of Swerdlow's all-ages club, the Rage, at 333 SW Park Ave. At the Rage, agents confiscated computers, film equipment and several boxes of tapes. The agents went from the Rage to Swerdlow's home, a houseboat moored at Hayden Island. Again, they seized a large quantity of material, including videos, VCRs and boxes of folders. Interestingly, Swerdlow wasn't arrested, which raised questions about the raid's success. The search warrant remains sealed, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Deits won't discuss details, saying only, "Internet child pornography is a subject of the investigation." Others involved contend that the task force found what it was looking for in the search. Swerdlow's nightclubs (he operated the City Nightclub and Evolution before the Rage) bore a resemblance to Internet chat rooms, which bring likeminded people of all ages together in one place. Cops claim that Swerdlow's clubs were frequented by teens who met and had sex with older men. To the police and those who counsel street kids, mixing young teens with older men is not healthy. "Any time you have an all-ages nightclub, you definitely have a formula for pedophiles," says Sean Suib, a caseworker at New Avenues for Youth. "We know multiple, multiple kids doing survival sex through those clubs." Swerdlow was unavailable for comment. --NJ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published October 7, 1998