Two women have filed a lawsuit against former Republican congressmen from Florida Chris Dorworth and Matt Gaetz, the latter nominated by Trump in 2024 for the position of Attorney General of the United States, whom they accuse of having participated in a sex trafficking network that exploited "economically vulnerable" young women.
"They were men of power, wealth, and privilege who used their positions not to protect the vulnerable, but to take advantage of them," the complaint states, which has been accessed by Europa Press, and describes "the recruitment and sexual exploitation of 'Jane Doe 1' and 'Jane Doe 2' during the period from 2017 to January 2019," preserving the identity of the plaintiffs with the generic name used in the United States for these cases.
The lawsuit also targets former tax collector Joel Greenberg --currently serving an eleven-year prison sentence for six crimes, including the trafficking of a minor for sex-- and claims that "Gaetz and Greenberg coordinated the recruitment, payments, drug supply, and travel in order to obtain commercial sexual acts from young women," while "Dorworth knowingly participated in these acts." It is also indicated that the companies Greenberg Dental and AWG, linked to Greenberg, "provided the money that financed these illegal acts."
According to the document, between the summer of 2017 and December 2019, Gaetz and Greenberg "coordinated the recruitment, payments, drug supply, and travel to obtain commercial sexual acts" from both plaintiffs as well as other alleged victims.
Among the described activities are trips to Venice Beach, Miami, Las Vegas, the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and New York, journeys that "took 'Jane Doe 1' and 'Jane Doe 2' to places they had never been and to rooms with men they would never have otherwise met." "Everything that facilitated this access, from flights to hotel rooms, was paid for by men, including the defendants, who expected sex in return," the lawsuit adds.
The judicial writing states that Gaetz and Greenberg offered financial support to women, such as paying rent or tuition, although they often did not pay the full amounts. "When the network caught Jane Doe 1, she had no significant savings or stable income," the plaintiffs state, who assert that "the network took advantage of that need" and "made her believe that they could solve her financial problems as long as she continued to perform sexual acts for them and their associates."
According to the lawsuit, the two women were 20 and 22 years old when they met Gaetz, who was 35 years old and "was a sitting member of Congress and presented himself as one of President Donald Trump's closest confidants and most loyal supporters." The text emphasizes that the defendants "took advantage of this considerable age difference between them and the Jane Does, who had recently graduated from high school, to ensure their silence."
Gaetz left his seat in the House of Representatives in 2024 after being nominated by President Donald Trump for Attorney General, although he ultimately withdrew his candidacy amid public scrutiny stemming from an ethical investigation over other allegations, according to which he allegedly paid a 17-year-old high school student in exchange for sex and used illegal drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy.
The House Ethics Committee concluded that there was relevant evidence that Gaetz had engaged in improper conduct, including obstructing the Congressional investigation into his behavior. However, in 2023, the Department of Justice decided not to file charges against the former congressman in the course of its investigation into sex trafficking.