On his web site, he said the following:
***MISLEADING INTERNET REPORTS ABOUT PROFESSOR GEORGE REKERS***
A recent article in an alternative newspaper cleverly gave false impressions of inappropriate behavior because of its misleading innuendo, incorrectly implying that Professor George Rekers used the Rentboy website to hire a prostitute to accompany him on a recent trip. Contrary to Internet stories based on this slanderous article, following medical advice Professor George Rekers requires an assistant to lift his luggage in his travels because of an ongoing condition following surgery. His family, local friends, and even another university professor colleague have offered to accompany him on trips to lift luggage. Professor Rekers was not involved in any illegal or sexual behavior with his travel assistant.
Rekers did not comment on how he met the young man or why he selected him as an assistant rather than his family, local friends, and the other university professor. And the young man, "Lucien," said that the two met on the escort site Rentboy.com.
He later changed his statement to include the following:
Dr. Rekers found his recent travel assistant by interviewing different people who might be able to help, and did not even find out about his travel assistant's Internet advertisements offering prostitution activity until after the trip was in progress.
However, this contradicts "Lucien"'s statement that the two met on the escort site.
Meanwhile, the controversy continues to brew behind the scenes. The Miami New Times, the publication which originally broke the story, published a picture online of Rekers and "Lucien" at Miami International Airport.
In the picture, Rekers is handling the luggage while "Lucien" is standing to the side.
Meanwhile, activist Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out, an organization created to combat "anti-gay lies and ex-gay myths," has begun focusing attention on NARTH (the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality), one of the organizations of which Rekers is a board member.
On the Truth Wins Out web site, Besen said:
The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) is back in the news after its most prominent board member, George A. Rekers, was discovered by the Miami New Times with a male prostitute he met on RentBoy.com.This has put a searing spotlight on an organization that works hard to portray itself as reputable and mainstream. However, a closer examination of NARTH reveals that it has long been a refuge for disreputable characters, extremists and even criminals. It is a thoroughly discredited "ex-gay" fringe organization that peddles fraudulent "cures" for homosexuality. Sadly, a lucrative market still exists for anti-gay stereotypes disguised as science and the greedy ideologue "therapists" eager to profit from unnecessary pain. They take advantage of vulnerable people who want to "fit in" and exploit suffering families who are desperate to believe they can cure a loved one.
It has also been discovered that Rekers, along with another colleague of his, Walter Schum, was paid $87,000 by the state of Florida as expert witness to defend the state's law outlawing gay adoption in 2008.
And according to a January 11, 2007 article on the site 365gay.com, Rekers sued the state of Arkansas for $200,000 for his testimony when that state was defending its law outlawing gay foster parents in 2006.
He and state officials agreed to settle for $60,000.
Ironically in both cases, the judges who ruled against the laws called out Rekers's testimony for bias and inaccuracies.
So basically as an "expert witness" against the lgbt community, Rekers made over $100,000.
And to many people, that's 100,000 reasons why he must be more forthcoming as to the controversy with the male escort.
UPDATE- According to blogger Joe Jervis, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said the following about Rekers:
"In the past 24 hours FRC has received calls regarding Dr. George Rekers and his connection with the Family Research Council. After reviewing the historical records we did verify that Dr. Rekers was a member of the original Family Research Council board prior to its merger with Focus on the Family in 1987.
"Reports have been circulating regarding Dr. Rekers relationship with a male prostitute. FRC has had no contact with Dr. Rekers or knowledge of his activities in over a decade so FRC can provide no further insight into these allegations.
"While we are extremely disappointed when any Christian leader engages in the very activities that they 'preach' against, it is not surprising. The Scriptures clearly teach the fallen nature of all people. We each have a choice to act upon that nature or accept the forgiveness offered by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and do our best to ensure our actions, both public and private match our professed positions."
And if that's not bad enough, Rekers's facebook page has been besieged with, shall we say, highly interesting comments.
I have a copy of the 2007 365gay.com article for anyone who is interested. However, I do not have it scanned yet.