SHE left a broken home on the Jersey Shore at 17 and came to New York to work in nightclubs as a rhythm-and-blues singer. Now, at 22, she is the unwitting and as yet unseen star of the seamy drama that is the downfall of Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Kristen, the high-priced prostitute described in a federal affidavit as having a February 13 rendezvous with Mr Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, has spent the last few days in the expensive ninth floor apartment she rents in Manhattan's Flatiron district. She appeared briefly in court on Monday as a witness in the case against four people charged with running the prostitution ring, Emperor's Club VIP.
In a series of telephone interviews on Tuesday night, she said she had slept very little over the past week due to the stress from the case. "I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," she said as she told the tiniest titbits of her story.
Born Ashley Youmans but now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, she spoke softly and with good humour as she added, with significant understatement: "This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated."
She has not been charged. The lawyer appointed to represent her, Don Buchwald, told a magistrate in court on Monday she had been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation.
A person with knowledge of the Emperor's Club operation confirmed that Ms Dupre is the woman identified as Kristen in the affidavit. Mr Buchwald confirmed various details of her background but would not discuss the contents of the affidavit.
Ms Dupre said on the phone on Tuesday night that she was worried about how she would pay her rent, since the man she was living with "walked out on me" after she discovered he had fathered two children. She said she was considering working at a friend's restaurant or, after the lease on her apartment expires, moving back with her family in New Jersey "to relax".
She did not say when she had started working for Emperor's Club, or how often she had liaisons. Asked when she met Mr Spitzer and how many times they had seen each other, Ms Dupre said she had no comment.
Kristen, the high-priced prostitute described in a federal affidavit as having a February 13 rendezvous with Mr Spitzer at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, has spent the last few days in the expensive ninth floor apartment she rents in Manhattan's Flatiron district. She appeared briefly in court on Monday as a witness in the case against four people charged with running the prostitution ring, Emperor's Club VIP.
In a series of telephone interviews on Tuesday night, she said she had slept very little over the past week due to the stress from the case. "I just don't want to be thought of as a monster," she said as she told the tiniest titbits of her story.
Born Ashley Youmans but now known as Ashley Alexandra Dupre, she spoke softly and with good humour as she added, with significant understatement: "This has been a very difficult time. It is complicated."
She has not been charged. The lawyer appointed to represent her, Don Buchwald, told a magistrate in court on Monday she had been subpoenaed to testify in a grand jury investigation.
A person with knowledge of the Emperor's Club operation confirmed that Ms Dupre is the woman identified as Kristen in the affidavit. Mr Buchwald confirmed various details of her background but would not discuss the contents of the affidavit.
Ms Dupre said on the phone on Tuesday night that she was worried about how she would pay her rent, since the man she was living with "walked out on me" after she discovered he had fathered two children. She said she was considering working at a friend's restaurant or, after the lease on her apartment expires, moving back with her family in New Jersey "to relax".
She did not say when she had started working for Emperor's Club, or how often she had liaisons. Asked when she met Mr Spitzer and how many times they had seen each other, Ms Dupre said she had no comment.
On her MySpace page as it appeared on Wednesday morning, Ms Dupre described her "odyssey to New York from New Jersey through North Carolina, Miami, DC, Virginia and Austin, Texas." Public records show that she lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in 2001 and in North Carolina in 2003.
Music is her first love, and on the MySpace page Ms Dupre mentions Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, Christina Aguilera and Lauryn Hill among a long list of influences, including her brother, Kyle. (She also lists Madonna, Mary J. Blige and Amy Winehouse as her top MySpace friends.)
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