Last year, Gemmel Moore — a young, black, gay sex worker — was found dead of a meth overdose in the West Hollywood home of Ed Buck, a wealthy, 63-year-old white donor to the Democratic party. Soon after Moore’s death, allegations arose that Buck had a history of dosing sex workers with large amounts of meth as a kink. But last week prosecutors announced they would not be indicting Ed Buck in the death of Gemmel Moore.

On July 27, 2017, when Gemmel Moore was found dead in Ed Buck’s home, hi’s death was originally ruled an accident, but after allegations of racism and sexual exploitation arose, an investigation was launched.

Moore’s mother, Latisha Nixon, and one of Moore’s friends, a fellow sex worker, claimed Buck would supply drugs to sex workers and then pleasure himself. Nixon also claimed Buck would force Moore to go to “Santa Monica Boulevard looking for young gay black guys so he could inject them with drugs, see their reaction and how [they] would react and take pictures of them.”

Nixon also says that Gemmel Moore called her in 2016 in a panic, claiming Ed Buck had non-consensually injected drugs into his arm. She says Moore sent her pictures of his reddened arm and claims Moore filed a police report, though neither the report nor the photos have surfaced.

Drug paraphernalia was found at Buck’s home at the time of Moore’s death. And in a journal found at Moore’s home, he accused Buck of hooking him on meth, writing “Ed Buck is the one to thank. He gave me my first injection of chrystal [sic] meth.”

Another sex worker went to police shortly after Moore’s death making similar allegations against Ed Buck. Last year, activist Jasmyne Cannick posted an article about another sex worker, given the pseudonym “Blake,” alleging Ed Buck paid Blake $300 to spend three hours with him doing drugs. Blake also alleges that Buck injected him with methamphetamine, and on another occasion paid him $500 to inject the drug. Cannick later posted a now-deleted video of another sex worker being directed by Ed Buck.

Ed Buck’s lawyer, Seymour Amster, said that the news of no indictment was a “complete exoneration.” He said, “Gemmel Moore’s death was a tragedy. It’s now clear that Ed Buck had nothing to do with it.”

On July 10 homicide investigators presented their case. The prosecutors rejected the four proposed charges: murder, voluntary manslaughter and furnishing and possessing illegal drugs.

Do you think Ed Buck was involved in Gemmel Moore’s overdose death?

Featured image via Ed Buck’s Facebook