We were lured to shoot by ‘Playboy’ photographer and assaulted after he drew in models with sick ‘Pay-to-Play’ scam

A SEDUCTIVE pose, a lace robe draped crossed her elbows and a world-famous bunny logo successful the apical right-hand corner.

This was the work that was expected to alteration Emilie Rae's beingness forever, but she could ne'er person imagined the outgo it came with.

Emilie, 31, felt similar “Charlie successful the Chocolate Factory” erstwhile she was offered a “golden ticket” to sprout with Luis, a lensman whose connections successful the glamour industry appeared to tally deep.

Luis contacted Emilie, a glamour exemplary from the UK, on Instagram successful 2020.

The photographer, who is based successful Texas, US, said helium was coming to the UK erstwhile Covid lockdown restrictions were lifted - and that helium wanted to sprout Emilie for Playboy.

That connection led to a photograph shoot, which yet became the catalyst for a four-year probe into maltreatment and exploitation wrong the glamour industry, elaborate successful my new podcast, The Bunny Trap.

Luis’ Instagram grid was afloat of photos he’d taken of models connected the screen of Playboy editions.

Emilie couldn’t judge her luck. The exemplary had precocious mislaid a well-paid TV modelling gig owed to the pandemic, and her OnlyFans net dwindled from the £8,000 a period she was initially bringing in, leaving her strapped into an costly owe that she was disquieted astir paying.

She thought this could beryllium her accidental to truly marque it - and Luis told her helium could marque her a star.

But Emilie claims her sprout with Luis became a nightmare, with the exemplary alleging the lensman - who has not been charged with oregon convicted of immoderate crimes - pressured her into much and much explicit poses.

She says contempt being led to judge she was shooting for Playboy, the sprout rapidly became pornographic, with Luis encouraging Emilie to usage sex toys.

The Sun has contacted Luis aggregate times implicit the claims of Emilie and different models, but received nary response.

Emilie said: “I conscionable thought ‘what is going on?’ He would physically travel implicit and drawback my manus and enactment it somewhere. He was precise aggressive.”

The exemplary claims the sprout escalated to the constituent wherever Luis began to sprout video, which Emilie hadn’t consented to, earlier asking her to execute a enactment enactment connected him.

Emilie says she was thankfully capable to fly the Airbnb they had been shooting in, describing it arsenic a “lucky escape”.

'Harassment and abuse'

After, Emilie posted astir her acquisition connected Instagram - not naming immoderate names - and said different models began to travel forward, asking if she was talking astir Luis.

The models banded unneurotic and began sharing their stories of alleged harassment and maltreatment connected shoots with Luis.

Many claimed they had been pressured into situations they were uncomfortable with - and 1 model, Kiki Jay, claimed to person been sexually assaulted by Luis connected a ‘Playboy’ shoot.

Kiki claims Luis inappropriately touched her connected the sprout and tried to buss her, earlier exposing himself and attempting to unit Kiki to execute a enactment enactment connected him.

Kiki says she was “traumatised” and “burst into tears” during the alleged assault.

Kiki says she wanted to talk to the police aft her sprout with Luis but was encouraged not to by her friends, who said her vocation arsenic a glamour exemplary would enactment against her.

Not agelong aft the alleged assault, Kiki was contacted by Emilie, who had started a radical chat for models who had allegations of maltreatment and harassment against Luis and wanted to instrumentality action, which Kiki describes arsenic “music to my ears”.

The women from the radical chat yet reached retired to me, wanting maine to analyse their claims of harassment and maltreatment - and hoping that their voices mightiness yet beryllium heard.

My probe took maine successful a absorption I could ne'er person predicted, from proceeding the stories of astir a twelve British models who claimed to person had antagonistic experiences with Luis connected shoots to unveiling an intricate web of alleged exploitation - some intersexual and fiscal - that spans the globe.

Our latest episode, which is disposable now, reveals however Luis is charging models thousands of pounds to look successful planetary Playboy editions, arsenic portion of an industry-wide signifier known arsenic ‘Pay For Play’.

Blacklisted

As we excavation deeper, we find that galore of these magazines are nary longer successful circulation and are lone disposable to acquisition online - raising questions astir whether anyone is really buying them.

Many of the models assertion they paid immense amounts of wealth - oregon were pressured into taking much explicit contented - nether the illusion that appearing successful 1 of these magazines could beryllium career-defining.

But our probe suggests successful galore cases they were small much than online PDFs, apt seen by precise fewer people.

We besides larn however Luis is charging models thousands to look successful different magazines, which we uncover helium self-publishes and magnitude to small much than a PDF booklet disposable for online download, for a interest that appears to spell straight to him.

We contacted Luis aggregate times for comments but person ne'er heard back.

We besides uncover however Playboy told its planetary licensees to blacklist Luis successful April 2019 aft allegations of ‘pay-to-play’ were brought to their attraction - a afloat twelvemonth earlier his circuit of the UK, wherever helium arranged alleged ‘Playboy’ shoots with Emilie and galore of the different models we spoke to.

Playboy said: “When Playboy has go alert that definite photographers person engaged successful pay-to-play practices, specified arsenic erstwhile it learned of [Luis] successful April of 2019, it has acted without hesitation successful enactment of women and directed the licensee(s) to blacklist those circumstantial photographers.

They added: “Playboy …expressly prohibits its planetary publishing licensees … from accepting contented from photographers oregon models connected a pay-to-play basis.”

This revelation that Luis was inactive touting his alleged Playboy connections to conscionable and sprout with models a twelvemonth aft being blacklisted is simply a grim reminder of however small extortion determination is for the women moving successful an manufacture rife with exploitation and abuse.

Devastatingly, this deficiency of regularisation becomes adjacent much evident arsenic our probe continues, arsenic we uncover levels of exploitation we could ne'er person predicted.

The archetypal 4 episodes of the Bunny Trap, produced by Novel, are disposable connected each Podcast platforms now. The remaining episodes volition beryllium released play connected Tuesdays.