A Model Prisoner

"Each of the models is paid $10.00 per hour while planning the shots, being fit to outfits and having their hair and makeup done. They are then paid $50.00 per hour during the actual shooting time, typically 4-5 hours per girl. If the model is selected for a second photo session, she is paid $65 per hour during that second session," the form read.

"Girls that travel from outside the Las Vegas or Denver areas for studio work, or from more than 100 miles away for 'On Location' work will have all their travel expenses, hotel expenses and meal expenses paid. A parent or guardian must accompany girls that are under the age of sixteen, and trueteenbabes.com will also pay those expenses."

The packet explained that the photos and all the rights to them belonged to Grady -- a standard clause for photographers. And for any parent who took the time to read the information, Grady's permission package also included very specific descriptions of the photos he would be taking:

"The girls will be featured in a series of non-nude photographs that are produced to flatter and enhance her physical beauty, as well as showcase her personality. Make no mistake: The images we are planning will be high-quality, classy and personable, but also a bit on the 'Sexy' side. Simply put -- If the model has long shapely legs, we'll hope to photograph her in the shortest mini-skirts or shorts she is comfortable with. If she happens to have an above average bustline, we'll hope to feature her in bikini or tank tops that flatter that feature. The photographs will be non-nude, but they will be somewhat daring!"

Jennifer's parents signed. "They were excited for me," she recalls. "They had no problem with it." Her parents are more the "hands-off" type, she says; still, Jennifer's mother and father both visited Grady's studio to check it out.

The first time she showed up for a photo shoot, Jennifer says, "I was nervous. But Jimmy's a nice guy, and everyone there was really great to me." Karina, the woman Grady had hired to buy and select outfits, helped her choose something to wear and do her makeup; Jennifer posed for a couple of sets of pictures.

She liked the work and went back many times over the next year. "It was so much fun, and the pay was good," Jennifer says. "And Jimmy never said anything inappropriate to me. He and Karina would always say, 'If you don't feel comfortable in anything, you don't have to wear it.' We usually picked our own outfits."

The outfits were definitely skimpy; Jennifer and the others posed in bikinis, lingerie, extremely short shorts and thongs. Some girls wore sheer shirts. But Grady always seemed aware of when a line had been crossed. "There were a couple of times when he took pictures of me where the clothes had hiked up too high," Jennifer recalls. "Jimmy showed them to me and said they wouldn't be posted on the Web site."

Eventually, Jennifer started working for Grady behind the scenes, helping other teenage models get dressed and made up. She also helped run trueteenbabes' live Webcasts, where subscribers could log onto the site and exchange e-mails with the girls in real time. The girls wore outfits they'd posed in, and a Web camera filmed them during the chat.

Although the girls didn't know who was watching them, Jennifer says the Webcasts were "a blast." One of her jobs was to monitor what was being said to the girls. "If anyone ever said anything that offended us, or was more than PG-13, they'd get booted off the chat," she says. "If someone asked us to take our clothes off, we'd warn them. If it happened a second time, they'd get booted."

"It was really relaxed," adds Alia, another model. "There was always someone else there, always very professional. All Jimmy did was basically stand behind the camera. I never felt uncomfortable -- never felt anything out of the ordinary."

"It was fun," remembers Karina, Grady's assistant. "We had so many different outfits to choose from, the girls were able to select what they wanted to wear. Half the time the parents were in the room picking out the outfits. The girls absolutely loved it. I don't think I ever had a girl not have a good time."

And yet again, Grady had no problem finding people to pose in front of his lens. He received thousands of applications, usually online, from girls eager to pose for pictures. Many sent racy Polaroids.

If something seemed wrong, Grady tried to check it out. In one instance, he remembers, a young girl showed up at his studio with a guy she introduced as her brother. Grady called her home number: It turned out her parents had no idea what she was doing.

She wasn't alone in trying to keep her parents in the dark. But there were just as many girls whose parents seemed over-involved. "I had several girls whose parents applied for them," Grady says. "One mom lied about her daughter's age -- she was only twelve -- to get her signed up."