Filmmaker proposes 'virginity auction'

CARSON CITY, Nev., May 11 (UPI) -- An Australian filmmaker recruiting virgins for an auction says he'll move his production to Nevada to avoid prostitution charges in his country.

Melbourne filmmaker Justin Sisley has spent more than a year recruiting male and female virgins for a documentary about people willing to auction themselves, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported.

Sisley, however, may run afoul of prostitution laws in Nevada, representatives of the state's legal brothels told the Las Vegas Sun in a story published Tuesday. Bringing people across state lines for prostitution would violate U.S. federal law, said George Flint, a lobbyist for Nevada's brothels.

"He could be walking into real trouble," Flint said.

Some rural counties in Nevada have legalized prostitution, which is illegal in Clark and Washoe counties -- Nevada's population centers.

Sisley told the Telegraph the virgins would be paid $20,000 each and receive 90 percent of the "sale price." The brothel where the auction is held would receive the remaining 10 percent.

Flint said he knows of no brothel that has been contacted by Sisley to host the auction.