LOS ANGELES — The first day of the sentencing hearing for LA Direct Models’ Derek Hay, who pleaded guilty in May to one charge of conspiracy to commit pandering and a charge of perjury, took place in Los Angeles Wednesday.
As XBIZ reported, Hay’s plea was part of a plea agreement with the California attorney general in the criminal case against him and two co-defendants. He is currently out on probation, and is facing a maximum of 270 days in county jail, plus two years of probation.
A grand jury indicted Hay alongside his co-defendants in September 2022. The former agent was arraigned in March 2023.
Hay first faced criminal pandering charges in California in March 2020, stemming from accusations made during a “Jane Does” labor case that involved five models, former clients who petitioned against him and his agency before the California Labor Commission.
The 2020 felony charges and the September 2022 grand jury indictment are connected to their original 2018 civil filings and the testimony given by the five Jane Doe models during the Labor Board hearings in the fall and winter of 2019. The performers later self-identified as Charlotte Cross, Shay Evans, Sofi Ryan, Andi Rye and Hadley Viscara.
The five performers were given the chance to read impact statements before Hay and the court. A sixth former LA Direct client, Bobbi Dylan, sent a written statement to be read out.
Rye told the court, “I was led to believe that I could trust Derek and his agency to manage my career with my best interests in mind. I wanted to be an adult film performer. But through a pipeline, I became a prostitute."
Rye and other women “told the court that Hay would pressure his clients into performing sex work,” Courthouse News Service reported. “If they refused, he would sometimes threaten to blacklist them from the adult entertainment industry.”
Ryan told the court that the day she met Hay, her life turned upside down.
"Soon, I would be sexually assaulted, manipulated into escorting and lied to,” Ryan — who, according to her and the agent’s testimonies during a 2019 Labor Board hearing, dated Hay during part of their professional association — explained. "I was promised I would be a star with this massive career. Ultimately, I was punished because Derek wanted to control me but couldn’t."
Hay also gave a reply statement during Wednesday’s hearing, describing Rye as “a strange person to stand before the court and make allegations against me," because he “almost never spoke” to her.
Reflecting on the criminal case’s outcome, Hay told the court, “I got myself into this. I got my feet too close to the flame."
California Department of Justice prosecutor Jeff Segal labeled Hay “a malignant narcissist who didn't express remorse or empathy,” Courthouse News Service reported.
"Mr. Hay just had the opportunity to express some remorse, some empathy, to reflect on mistakes he’s made," Segal noted. "Instead, he took the time to talk about how he is the real victim. He got some bad press out of being charged with these crimes. He took the time to attack the victims."
The next day of the sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 2.
XBIZ has contacted Hay’s attorney Richard Freeman for comment.
