Gay male prostitutes are advertising their ‘wares’ on the internet and are having male customers come to their homes, or indeed the other way round, for paid sex, The Malta Independent has learnt.

One such website which The Malta Independent has come across boasts at least 90 profiles of Maltese men, or foreigners living in Malta, “in search of a good time.” Most of the profiles are not actually set up for prostitution purposes. They are, in fact, a sort of dating network for gay people, even though they do feature raunchy pictures and vivid descriptions of features we cannot name here.

The website does have a special section for gay escorts, inclusive of prices per hour and per night, contact details and the availability of the escorts. One user, who goes by the name of ‘Maltafluffer,’ promises a discreet service. He charges €40 per hour and €200 for a whole night. The user’s profile says that the ‘meetings’ can be held at his house, clients’ residences or in hotels. He also offers to be a ‘travel companion.’ Another user, who uses his real name, also provides ‘video+photo’ and phonesex. One has to ask for the going rate, however. Both users are listed as living in Valletta.

Another male escort listed on another website is more expensive, charging €100 per hour. A welcome message says; “Massage service for your pleasure, athletic build, English guy, totally discreet service. At my place, your place or hotel.”

A simple internet search reveals that there are several other sites that advertise escort services – both male and female.

It is not clear if the websites are hosted in Malta and, as such, if these are breaching Maltese laws. While prostitution itself is not illegal in Malta, brothels are illegal and it is against the law to loiter or solicit for prostitution in any place exposed to the public. The internet is widely deemed to be a public space.

In March of last year, four foreign women were taken to court after they advertised themselves for prostitution online. In this case the women were advertising on a specific adult dating/ escort website. On other occasions, women were arraigned for falsely advertising massage services which were in fact prostitution services. A number of similar adverts had been posted on local websites.

A reader who alerted this newsroom about the online prostitution services pointed out that these adverts seem to be more concerned, however, with the places these ‘male escorts’ are using to meet up with their clients. “It is not fair having strange men coming to apartment blocks where we live for sexual services. This is detrimental to us residents who do not annoy anyone.”