Sexual exploitation is a web of intersectionality that spans the globe and all manifestations of sexual abuse and exploitation feed into and off of one another. Recent news of predatory grooming, sexual abuse, rape, and sex trafficking allegedly perpetrated by a wealthy individual in Florida are more evidence of this reality.
Lanfranco Pescante (Franco), the owner of several high profile restaurants and clubs in Tampa, Florida, has been called out for racist and violent comments he has made online. In the midst of this news, multiple women have come forward with allegations about Franco’s sexual misconduct and participation in sex trafficking.
Carmen Caliente, a woman who currently appears in many mainstream pornography productions, is one of the leading accusers. While Carmen might appear to be “happy” in the pornography industry and might look like someone who “chose this life,” she recently opened up about her backstory and explained that she was sex trafficked at 19 years of age and was subsequently pushed into the sex industry through Franco’s predatory and grooming actions.
**WARNING: Carmen’s Instagram account contains nudity, but this video does not and is where she shares that background.**
Many of the women who have come forward against Franco have revealed tragic stories of rape, sexual assault, and being drugged. Some also say they were just minors when he first approached them.
In the midst of a cultural moment wherein painful revelations and conversations about racism and sexual exploitation continue to dominate headlines and social media feeds, listening to stories like these from survivors is crucial because they underscore and emphasize the intersectionality between all forms of sexual exploitation. The fact is that many individuals who are in sexually exploitative industries right now, like the pornography industry, were groomed, abused, and/or trafficked. Often while they were children.
Pornography, poverty, grooming, the objectification of women, stripping, sex trafficking, and so many other factors are inextricably tied together. Crimes like the ones Lanfranco Pescante has allegedly perpetrated are intricately linked to these abuses and exploitations and, as more data comes to the surface and more stories are being heard, the connections are impossible to ignore.
