Loophole Lets Nevada Brothels Offer Escort Services in Pandemic

LOS ANGELES—Nevada’s legal brothels were left out of the state’s phased reopening plan when it reached Phase 2 back in May. But with the state averaging more than 700 new coronavirus infection cases, and about 20 deaths, per day, Governor Steve Sisolak has yet to move the state into Phase 3 — and at the end of July, he scrapped the phased reopening plan altogether. As a result, with August reaching an end, Nevada brothels remain shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But one brothel believes it has found a loophole in the state’s shutdown rules. Earlier this month, though the brothel operation itself remains closed, the Mustang Ranch in Storey County, Nev., began offering escort services, according to a report by The Reno Gazette Journal.  Sisolak’s orders issued at the end of May force dayclubs, nightclubs, adult entertainment facilities and brothels to stay shut down — but the governor had nothing to say about escort services. “There’s nothing we could find that prohibits escort services from being operational,” Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro told The Gazette Journal. “It’s an escort — there are no sex services.” But when the newspaper contacted the governor’s office to find out whether the COVID-19 health orders required escort services to shut down, it received no direct answer. The chief executive of Lyon County, however, said that he did not believe escort services were permitted under the pandemic health restrictions.  “I’m not sure how you perform the duties of a prostitute with a mask and social distancing requirements,” County Executive Jeff Page said. But in Storey County, officials told the paper that the believed escorts were simply “offering companionship,” without sexual services as part of the deal. Mustang Ranch is not attempting to fly under the radar with its escort service. The brothel’s owners submitted a business plan to Storey County in May — and the district attorney and sheriff’s offices gave the proposal a green light. The Mustang Ranch already has a plan to reopen with safety measures in place, according to a report by Nevada’s NBC2 TV News. That plan would require face masks, temperature checks for customers, and no waiting inside the brothel. Patrons would be required to wait in their cars, or a designated waiting area, before their appointments.  Photo By Skeeze / Pixabay