Gilgo Beach murders: ‘Prostitutes don’t trust the police’

Former prostitute Audacia Ray says Suffolk County police will have a hard time getting help from sex workers.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer believes a New York or Long Island sex worker knows who the Gilgo Beach serial killer is, and he’d like that person to come forward with information.

But so far no one has, and it’s more than likely no one will, an ex-prostitute told Metro.

“Prostitutes don’t trust the police,” said former Manhattan sex worker Audacia Ray. “I know a lot of cases where sex workers have given information about a crime and then the cop will show up where they work and demand a sex act or threaten to arrest them.”

Four prostitutes have been identified as the dead bodies at Gilgo Beach. The other four bodies found buried there have not yet been identified.

There exists something call the Bad Date List, compiled by New York City and Long Island prostitutes, which is filled with the names of customers who are either violent or refuse to pay. The list also contains license plate numbers and is circulated internally among area sex workers.

“That list is very private,” said Sarah Jenny Bleviss, of the Sex Workers Outreach Project. “It’s dangerous for an outsider to get ahold of it because if a customer sees his name on the list he can easily change his name.”

Not taken seriously?

The family of missing Jersey City escort Shannan Gilbert, who was last seen in Oak Beach in May, said they think the police took their time responding to a 911 call on her behalf.

“I think police took their time responding because of the nature of work she was in,” said a relative of Gilbert’s. “I don’t think she was taken seriously.”