Exposed: The seedy sleaze behind Sponsor
a Scholar
Website offering
students money for sex is a hoax with potentially dangerous consequences.
A creepy impostor is behind a website which claims to offer students up to £15,000 in return for sex with a ‘sponsor’.
As
The Tab reported
on Tuesday, Sponsorascholar.co.uk claims to offer wealthy men “a high
level of
sexual intimacy” if they pay for undergrads’
tuition fees.
But
an investigation by The Independent saw
an ‘assessor’ from the website demand an undercover
reporter go through
a ‘practical assessment’ with him before he could find her a sponsor.
The
assessor told the reporter, posing as a student, she would have to
prove the level of intimacy she was willing to go by returning to a
nearby flat with him. He said the further she would go, the more money
she would raise from a sponsor.
He said: “Whatever you put on your
sheet what level of intimacy you’re prepared to go into, you and I will
go through that today. We’ve got a questionnaire we’ll go through, your
likes and dislikes and the kind of thing you’re comfortable doing.”
When
the reporter said no to the ‘practical’, the man suggested meeting a
later date in December. He said: “If we don’t do it tonight I can’t fit
you in until then.”
A statement on Sponsorascholar.co.uk
said: ”Students are committed under the terms of a scholarship to meet
with their chosen sponsor between one and four [times] a term.
“These
meetings will always take place in a private location such as a hotel
room (the exact number of meetings per term, together with the duration
and the level of sexual intimacy expected will form the basis of the
scholarship agreement).”
The website now appears to be down and says: “Sorry website unavailable for maintenance.”
Sponsor A Scholar Website Allows Students To Fund Tuition Fees Through Sex, Raises 'Worrying' Questions
A website offering to arrange financial "sponsorship for
scholars" in return for sex has renewed questions over whether higher
tuition fees are driving students into prostitution to make ends meet.
Sponsor A Scholar offers cash-strapped females the opportunity to
find a male "sponsor". The sponsor will then hand over a minimum of
£5,000 in return for illicit hotel meetings with the student.
The site matches up wealthy businessmen with young women in exchange for "private meetings"
Students can earn a minimum of £5,000 per academic year, while the
maximum scholarship on offer is £15,000. The site states its sponsors
range from 28 years old to 50, who "want to have discreet adventures
with a student whilst helping them fund their studies through a
scholarship".
A female escort, who uses the alias Kitty, revealed she was
approached by a man claiming to be "directing marketing" in a one-off
for the website.
According to Kitty, she was told the "sponsor" pays the company
before meeting with the student. Only once the student has met with the
client do they receive their tuition fee money.
The Huffington Post UK registered with the site under a pseudonym and
was told by the "principal assessor" there was an interview waiting
list of two to three weeks.
We were told: "I note from your registration form you have a
preferred interview location of Central London, if there are any other
locations which are suitable for interview then let me know as I may be
able to fit you in sooner."
The email continued: "It is important to stress Sponsor A Scholar
does not stipulate what should occur between two consenting adults in a
hotel room, but based upon the considerable sums of money are [sic]
sponsors are offering, they tell us they have expectations of a level of
sexual intimacy with their chosen student."
He then adds his company offers a £250 referral fee for promoting the site to friends.
We then received another email, this time from Emma Forester, who calls herself "principle [sic] admissions secretary".
She said: "You have been assigned to one of our most experienced
assessors. [He] has been with us since the beginning in 2006 and in that
time he has helped over 400 students to join and find the right sponsor
through us."
The website not only claims to have provided 1,400 scholarships since
its start-up but also does not appear in search terms before 2012.
Domain search tool Whois shows the site was registered on 20 January
2012, under the name of an academic at the London School of Economics.
The professor, whose identity HuffPost UK has agreed to withhold, has insisted he has been the victim of a hoax.
He released a statement saying: "I have been made aware of a website
that was registered using my name and an old address of mine. I have
not registered this or any other internet domain and have no connection
with the business that is being operated from this site, or with the
person using my name. I have reported this matter to the police."
Students who sign up to Sponsor A Scholar are committed to meeting
their sponsor between one and four times a term, with the meetings
"always" taking place in a private place "such as a hotel". The site
adds:
"The exact number of meetings per term, together with
the duration and the level of sexual intimacy expected will form the
basis of the scholarship agreement. Sponsor A Scholar UK will arrange an
introductory meeting in a suitable public place which will allow you to
get to know your sponsor and agree the finer detail of the scholarship
package such as the level of sexual intimacy you are comfortable with.
"Typically meetings last anywhere between 1 and 2 hours. We would
hope that all our members are too busy enjoying their encounter to be
watching the clock!
"Safe and discreet encounters with the knowledge that you are
funding your studies or helping someone to fund their studies through a
scholarship, how can that not be fun?"
"Sponsor A Scholar is not responsible for what occurs between consenting adults in a hotel room."
An undercover investigation by the Independent revealed had attempted to lure students back to a flat in order to conduct a "practical assessment".
He told the newspaper's reporter: "[We] make sure you that you're
comfortable to do that, to... get an idea of what your first meeting
with the sponsor will be. We have to... make sure when we put you in
front of your sponsor you're confident in doing the things you said you
would do.
"The more you're prepared to do the more interest you're going to get."
Another search revealed it had linked itself to dating website Match.com.
The site is registered to an "office" in Stoke Newington, with the address appearing to be a house on a residential street.
A spokesperson for Match.com denied any involvement with Sponsor A
Scholar: "The website is not affiliated with Match.com in any way and we
are in the process of contacting them to legally require that all
references to Match.com are removed immediately."
The site has raised concerns as to whether students are turning to sex work to fund their way through university.
Mark Wakeling, director of
Beyond the Streets, a charity working to end sexual exploitation, spoke to The Huffington Post UK about the dangers of sugar-coating prostitution.
"Websites such as Sponsor a Scholar are a worrying development and are
in danger of creating an impression that selling sex is an easy way to
raise money," he said. "The many women we have spoken to have numerous
stories of how prostitution ruined their lives and that they would make
different decisions with hindsight.
"Businesses who profit from suggesting an easy income with little
cost are acting irresponsibly and ignore the reality behind the
vulnerability that prostitution often creates. Slick publications
airbrush out the harm and promote an idea of there being little risk.
"Students need to be aware of the real dangers involved in such schemes and the longer term impact which cannot be edited out."
Although they are entitled to loans to cover the cost of tuition
fees, which for many now amount to £9,000 a year, students are taking
more "dangerous measures" to pay for university.
Last year, Estelle Hart, the then National Union of Students' women's officer,
warned higher fees and cuts to the education maintenance allowance are driving students to the streets to pay for their studies.
"They [ministers] know the cuts they're making are driving women into
things like sex work. It's a survival strategy so we would hold the
government responsible for that."
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the force had not
received a criminal complaint about the site but a civil complaint had
been lodged.
The Sponsor A Scholar site has since been removed and now states it is undergoing maintenance.
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