NEW YORK — The day after federal prosecutors pulled the covers off the high-priced prostitution ring that would soon bring down Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the call girl at the center of the scandal told her father she was in a little trouble, he said.
But Ashley Alexandra Dupre didn't explain what that trouble was, William Youmans told the New York Post Friday from his hometown of Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
"Everyone makes mistakes, and this was a very large mistake," the stonemason said. "I love her tremendously and support her, but I am just in so much shock right now."
His 22-year-old daughter was unmasked Wednesday as the prostitute — identified in court documents as "Kristen" — whom Spitzer arranged to meet for a tryst in Washington the night before Valentine's Day, according to law enforcement officials.
When Dupre called her father in tears on March 7, Spitzer had not yet been publicly linked to the Emperors Club VIP escort service. But four alleged organizers had been arrested the day before.
"She was really upset. I was worried for her," Youmans told the Post. "She told me she was in a little bit of trouble."
Dupre, born Ashley Youmans, grew up largely in New Jersey but moved in with her father on North Carolina's Outer Banks at age 17, he said. Feeling out of place, she left after a year to move to New York and pursue her singing ambitions.
Dupre has found herself in a media maelstrom since her role in the scandal was disclosed. Pictures of her have been splashed across newspaper pages, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt has offered her $1 million to pose nude for his magazine and thousands of people have bought her songs from an online music retailer.
Her lawyer lambasted the media Friday for publishing revealing photos and thrusting her into the "public glare" without her consent.
Subscribe to RSS Feed