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10 Events
1 People
1 Name
Warren Zufelt
Names
Warren Zufelt
Biography
Warren Zufelt was implicated in the "Ottawa Sex Scandal," which involved two male nude modelling agencies run by Michel Gravel that were used as a front for a prostitution service involving teenage boys. Zufelt was one of 18 men arrested in the case starting in March 1975, all of whom had their names, addresses, and occupations published across Canada, causing a flood of hate mail and calls. On March 18 Zufelt died by suicide after jumping from an apartment building. His death increased controversy in an already huge scandal, and sparked activism regarding police persecution of gays and biased reporting in the media. Zufelt's suicide also caused Michael Cassidy of the NDP to speak out against the double standard in charging gay clients of prostitutes with more serious charges than heterosexual clients. The organization Gays of Ottawa (GO) formed the Warren Zufelt Memorial Defence Fund in order to alleviate the court costs of the other men arrested.
