Harold Levy

p. B5.

Agency owner denies prostitution

Escort may have offered 'a kiss on the cheek,' he testifies

The alleged owner of the Exotica, Sweet Escorts and Sweet Sensations agencies has denied that his employees were hired to sell sex for money.

They were only supposed to provide companionship, Mark Lukacko testified during cross-examination by prosecutor Calvin Barry yesterday.

Lukacko, 33, a Mississauga resident who has pleaded not guilty to 15 prostitution-related charges, said companionship involved discussions for lonely men who wanted to spend time with a woman.

Asked whether that included physical contact, Lukacko replied, "There might have been a kiss on the cheek."

When Barry asked whether there might have been a kiss "on the penis" or oral sex, Lukacko responded that would be "a matter of dismissal."

Lukacko described a booming business that operated around the clock and once had a database of about 1,500 clients. Escorts charged $160 per hour, grossing $600,000 per year.

When Barry charged that "for you to say 'companionship' is utterly ridiculous," Lukacko replied, "I think it is reasonable to assume that someone wants company."

Some of the cross-examination, which continues this morning, focused on the meaning of words Barry suggested were used in the sex trade and have come up during the trial.

For example, asked what "a trick" was, Lukacko replied that " a trick is a person you tried to trick," adding, "I never used that term."

Lukacko defined "a filthy girl" as "a girl who doesn't take care of herself and wash herself regularly," and said the term "open-minded," which had come up during the trial, indicated " a very good conversationalist that is willing to listen."

Lukacko testified that a note on a client index card that stated "escort will see couples" referred to "companionship" rather than sex.

"Companionship with a husband and wife?" Barry retorted.

Asked what a notation on another card that a client preferred an escort who was "busty" had to do with companionship, he replied, "Busty, thin, tall, these are all descriptions that describe a person."

Lukacko repeatedly denied knowledge that escorts were hired to provide sex for money. He did acknowledge, after being shown papers seized by police, that he had planned a Web page to provide "the world's finest live, interactive sex show."