Site of Craig's bathroom bust was popular spot for sex-seekers Nick Juliano Published: Thursday August 30, 2007
Submit to Netscape
Print This Email This
Some had warned of police sting before Craig's arrest
The Minneapolis airport bathroom where Idaho Sen. Larry Craig was arrested earlier this summer was a popular spot for anonymous sex seekers, although word spread on Internet message boards that police were conducting a sting operation.
"I just got busted here," said one commenter on http://cruisingforsex.com, which serves as a clearinghouse for men looking for anonymous sexual encounters. "Young white guy sitting in the stall, waiting for you to show [genitalia] and then he flashes his badge. I think he and his partner tag team. They cruise lots of sex sites looking for guys to set up."
The blog Princess Sparkle Pony compiled several comments about the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport bathroom, which portrayed it as a popular place among travelers and locals alike. Popular satire blog Wonkette also reprinted some comments.
"Read about this hot spot today and stopped by after getting off my flight," according to one comment reprinted on the blog. "I walked around the corner and a hot, tall, [well-endowed] man was [pleasuring himself] at the urinal. I joined in and motioned him into a stall, sat on the toilet and [pleasured] him until he [had a happy ending]. I didn't get off so I killed some time, came back, stood at the urinal for a few minutes and another guy walked in, turned to glance at my [genitalia], proceeded into a stall, I chose the one next to him and before I knew it we were grabbing each other under the stall. Then his ass came down and squatted and I [pleasured him] until I [achieved a happy ending]. Hot!"
"This place is unbelievably hot!" another anonymous sex seeker observed. "I sat in a stall for less than five minutes and had two Northwest Airlines employees sit on either side of me, both tapping their feet. They took turns [pleasuring me] under the stall."
Police began cracking down on anonymous sexual encounters in the bathroom -- like the one police say Craig wanted to engage in. They won't say how many were netted in the sting, but police have made 41 bathroom arrests since May, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
It remains unclear whether Craig found the bathroom through online testimonials, but police said he peered into an officer's stall, tapped his foot and made other gestures that are known to indicate a desire to hook up.
"The Internet has ... provided greater awareness to individuals who previously didn't have any realization that such behavior went on," Richard Tewksbury, a University of Louisville professor who has studied "cruising" for 20 years, told the Star Tribune. "But it's really a wash for law enforcement, because they certainly monitor these sites and know the locales."
Craig was arrested in June and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges two months later. After his arrest emerged earlier this week in Roll Call, he denied being gay and said he regretted pleading guilty. Several GOP senators, including presidential candidate John McCain, have called for Craig to step down, and he has been stripped of his committee assignments.