Escort services preach safety

But woman who worked for one says it's risky

By KELLY WELLS kwells@journalsentinel.com, Journal Sentinel

Thursday, March 13, 2003

A day after Keith M. Addy was charged with killing and dismembering escort Anna Marie Lewandowski, area escort services said they screen clients carefully and that this should not have happened.

A former employee, however, dismissed that idea.

Addy, 26, a convicted sex offender, was charged with killing Lewandowski last week after the 19-year-old woman came to his West Allis apartment in response to a call he made to Beautiful Blondes seeking a dominatrix.

Police went to Addy's apartment in the 8700 block of W. National Ave. after one of Lewandowski's relatives called police to report that the woman had not returned to pick up her child. Lewandowski's remains were eventually found in a garbage bin outside of Addy's apartment.

All of the escort services contacted by phone Wednesday said their employees had never encountered violence or threatening situations. Many claimed to have tight security procedures but refused to elaborate.

Classy Touch Entertainment, an escort service advertised in the Shepherd Express newspaper, screens clients and does not send women on calls alone, according to a woman named Jenna who answered the phone Wednesday. Jenna declined to give her last name.

"Of course we check people out," she said. "I think the call (that Lewandowski was on) could have been handled differently."

Another service advertising in the Shepherd Express, Play Time, also claims to have tight security. A man who answered the business' phone Wednesday said the women who work for Play Time go on calls in pairs and that none of them had ever experienced any problems.

"We're just very cautious about who we talk to," he said, adding that the service does not take "vulgar calls." He hung up on a reporter when asked for his name.

However, a former service employee said the escort business is dangerous.

Kim, who declined to give her last name, said she worked for an escort service briefly but quit, in part because of safety concerns. She now works as an independent escort.

"The service that sent her out shouldn't have sent her," she said of Lewandowski. "The girls don't need services. These services are just greedy. It's sad; it's just so sad."

Kim dismissed the idea of sending women out in pairs, saying that if a client wanted to hurt one woman, he would be capable of hurting two.

"It's like Russian roulette," Kim said. "It's a very dangerous line of work."

Kim said she has had a few run-ins with clients during her two- year career as an escort. Each time, though, she was able to keep the situation under control and leave. She said she protects herself by turning down potential clients who call with "strange" requests.

Despite taking precautions, Kim still worries about her safety.

"Did it turn my stomach when I heard it? Yeah," she said. "It could have been any of us. It bothers me. It was a rude awakening."

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