May 9, 2000

      By Richard Zitrin

                               FORT COLLINS, Colo. (APBnews.com)
                               -- A 45-year-old man was arrested
                               Monday and charged with paying
                               women $10 an hour to participate in a
      fake study of the female orgasm, police said.

      Anthony Lasirena placed ads in the local newspaper, the Coloradoan, and
      the Colorado State University newspaper, the Rocky Mountain Collegian, to
      solicit subjects for the phony sex research project he conducted at his
      home, Fort Collins police spokeswoman Rita Davis said. The ads ran from
      March 29 to April 14, she said.

      He told women who responded to the ads that he worked for a firm,
      Research Associates, which apparently does not exist, Davis said.

      "Lasirena claimed the research was to identify potential physiological
      changes in women before and after the G-spot orgasm," Davis said.

      Lasirena told APBnews.com today that his attorney advised him not to
      comment.

      Women felt 'violated'

      After having the women fill out surveys and waiver forms at his home, he
      conducted physical examinations on the women's breasts and genitals and
      used a surgical pen to mark various areas on the body, Davis said. He then
      took photographs of the women's bodies and performed the same process
      after they reached orgasm, she said.

      Lasirena allegedly offered the women alcohol to help them relax. He also
      offered to help the women reach orgasm if they were unable to do so
      through self-stimulation, Davis said.

      A search warrant turned up records that led police to four women -- ages
      18, 19, 20 and 41 -- who participated in the phony sex survey, she said.
      Police believe there is a fifth victim, but she has not been contacted.

      "[They] are feeling very violated and very betrayed by the misrepresentation
      of the individual," Davis said.

      Cop poses as subject

      The fake study was uncovered after a Fort Collins woman who responded
      to one of Lasirena's newspaper ads had contacted police because she felt
      the project was not legitimate, she said.

      A police officer posing as a potential subject for the study confirmed the
      woman's suspicions after talking with Lasirena, Davis said.

      Lasirena, who is on disability for a psychological disorder, is charged with
      criminal impersonation, providing alcohol to minors and sexual exploitation
      of a child. The sexual exploitation charge stems from child pornography
      police found at his home, she said.

      He is free on $10,000 bond pending his first court appearance today,
      according to a spokeswoman for the Larimer County Detention Center.
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