A 13-year-old Newark, Texas, boy convicted of fraud for hiring two hookers and racking up $30,000 in charges on his father's credit card?
According to an online Money website published in the UK, Ralph Hardy paid prostitutes to spend the evening playing Xbox video games with him and his friends in a Texas motel.
But there's one problem. The British report is just a silly online rumor, Newark police told WND.
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Spokeswoman Amy Cromer laughed and said, "As far as we know, this story is a hoax. There have not been any arrests here, and we're not aware of any convictions like that in this county."
Cromer said word gets around in a town with a population of only 1,100 people. The rumor is spreading so quickly that she said the county decided to feature the story on its blog.
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According to the British report, when a delivery man brought stockpiles of Dr Pepper, Fritos and Oreos to their room, the boys asked where they could pick up chicks. The kids indicated that they would be willing to pay big money for escort services following a win at a "World of Warcraft" tournament.
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When Newark police allegedly arrived on the scene, the article says they discovered $3,000 in cash, several electronic gadgets, an Xbox video console with a heap of games and two local call girls.
According to the story, the $1,000-per-night hookers, released without charge, said the boys told them they were people of stunted development who were traveling with a circus. The kids claimed state law prevents disabled workers to be discriminated against, so the prostitutes had no right to deny their services.
The article says the girls became suspicious when the boys indicated they would rather play Xbox games than hit the sheets.
"Ralph's ambition is to one day become a politician," the English publication's report concludes.
Meanwhile, the hoax is spreading like wildfire on the Internet. The following are just a few blogger reactions to the story:
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- I think they are being harsh on that boy. He's a good boy at heart. This I know because he resisted that temptation to fornicate with them. He done just gameboy or Xboxed with them. That's a good boy.
- That kid is a genius. Seriously, his lies are better than most I've heard from actual adults. I see a very successful law career in his future.
- I guess if you're going to get grounded anyway, you might as well go for it.
- But did he actually win the tournament? I need news here, people.
- "Ralph's ambition is to one day become a politician"? Move over, Eliot Spitzer.
When WND investigated the story, authorities cheerfully dispelled the rumor.
"We don't have hookers here," Cromer said. "I guess he went to Dallas for that."
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