Last week, we took a peek at the lives of children of the sex trade. This week, we continue the series with a look inside the Hill Foot Pub in Culloden, Westmoreland, and the dangers of prostitution.

CULLODEN, Westmoreland – It’s called the Hill Foot Pub and it’s packed every Thursday by exotic dancers and club operators from all across the island. Over drinks or under trees in the yard, they work out deals for weekend ‘dancing contracts’.

At 9:00 am last Thursday, the area in and around the shabby-looking blue and white building located along the busy Whitehouse to Black River main road was a flurry of activity.

Inside the run-down, zinc-roofed building filled with constant chatter, some ‘dancers’ waited patiently to be hired by small groups of club owners (called bosses). Outside, other ‘dancers’ gathered under several trees near the club.

A man, who everyone simply called Keithie, was busy serving up a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to the dancers and bosses. Regular patrons said he was in charge.

“One Red Stripe beer for this (dancer), Keithie,” said a tall, dark, club operator from Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth. He was trying to convince one of the girls to perform at his club on the weekend.

But after accepting the beer, the skimpily-dressed dancer, who appeared to be in her late 20s, turned him down.

“Mi caan come this weekend boss, mi really sorry. Next week I will come down there,” she promised with a smile.

The disappointed Santa Cruz club operator quickly moved over to another dancer who was busily chatting with some of her colleagues. The club operator is one of the more than about 40 club owners from across the island who make the weekly trek to Culloden to choose from the more than 100 dancers who are usually waiting there.

“De man dem love go-go dancing and nice (girls) come here (at the pub) for hire,” said a St Catherine club operator. He had made the more than 100-mile journey from Spanish Town to Culloden.

Another, who gave his name as Brian Walker and said he was the operator of a club in Manchester, told the Sunday Observer that he usually gets to Culloden from as early as 6:30 am on Thursdays.

“When you come early you get the nice young dancers; the ones with the stiff breasts,” he said.

“Those are the ones the men like to see dance; but if you don’t come early you will not get them as they are in great demand so they go very fast,” he explained.

Like the club operators, the dancers also travel from near and far to get to the Hill Foot Pub.

Most, however, said that they prefer to work at clubs located in parish capitals. They get good tips in these areas, they said, and customers pay more for sexual favours.

Jennifer Hall, an attractive dancer who said she performs at a ‘sophisticated’ night club in Santa Cruz, said she earns as much as $20,000 on weekends. She rakes in the cash from a combination of tips and selling sex.

In addition, she said, her boss – a charming middle-age woman – is very kind and pays more than the $1,000 per night that is paid to most of the dancers.

At the Hill Foot Pub last Thursday, a former exotic dancer who only identified herself as Sharon, spent most of the morning collecting $200 fees from the club operators who had secured deals with dancers.

She chose not to give details about the operations of the pub, but said business was brisk.

“Everything good man, things a gwaan nice,” she said.

On a typical day, Sharon is said to collect as much as $10,000 in fees from club operators. She works on a commission basis for Keithie, who prefers to man the bar, regulars said.

Those in the business say Keithie keeps a tight rein on his operation.

“He is very strict, so we have to pay the fee or else we can’t come back down here to get any dancers,” said one female club operator.

Up to three years ago, the hiring of exotic dancers in the western end of the island was conducted at the Guango Tree and Hendon areas of Westmoreland. But those in the know said the operation was moved to the pub in Culloden because dancers were allegedly being ‘pressured’ by the police.

On Friday, the Whitehouse police, who have responsibility for the Culloden area, said they were fully aware of the activities being carried out at the Hill Foot Pub, but explained that there appeared to be no breach of the law.

“As far as we know, there is nothing illegal going on there,” explained Sergeant Clinton Russell. “What we do know is that club operators from all over the island come there on Thursdays to select persons who they want to dance for them, and that is not illegal.”

He added, however, that the police occasionally make checks to determine whether or not persons under the age of 18 are at the pub.