Interview By: Matthew Mullins
Photo: Ulli Richter
What would you do if you were locked in a cage against your will and given no choice in what happened next? Recounting a memory of such an experience can be daunting but also helps frame the experience, showing us what to look for so we don’t fall prey to the same kind of trap.
In 2001, Daniel V., a pro dom bisexual man, was caged and raped by two leathermen who had gained his trust over a few months’ time. Feeling safe to share his sexual desires with them, the two men maliciously tortured him in his own soundproofed dungeon space in Long Beach, California.
Drummer Magazine: Now pertaining to your incident with those two leathermen and the cage, how did you come to meet them?
Daniel V.: The first man, Mike, was a client who was in a serious ltr relationship. I had to be very private about our relationship because his other man had no clue about me. Mike would occasionally go out with me and knew some of my friends. The other person, Dave, I believe was the primary facilitator of the sexual scene. I think with absolute certainty, this was all dreamt up and planned by him. Unfortunately, my client/boyfriend had succumbed to the powers of this fool.
Drummer: So your client/boyfriend, Mike introduced you to Dave and they randomly decided to switch sexual roles with you?
Daniel V: Yes, this scene was set up with me being submissive instead of dominant and they were both going to carry out the dominant role. It was possible—Mike was genuinely just wanting to learn more about being a top and in opening that door discovered ‘Oh, if I do this, I could do that…’ and ‘if I take that step, then I could do this…’ And each step got more dark, more devious. Ultimately, with Dave the initial experience was rape. I didn’t want to believe it happened and allowed myself to put it all aside, choosing to continue our relationship. I figured they just got carried away. And then about six weeks later Dave set up the scene with the cage and things got really messed up.
Drummer: So even after they assaulted you, you wanted to remain friends, and you still went to meet them for another scene?
Daniel V.: ‘The night of terror,’ I often call it. We had decided to set the scene as a threesome in my dungeon in my warehouse. Mike wanted to be dominant, which was happening more commonly. They put me into this cage—a metal cage—and once that lock was secured, the tone of energy, the feeling in the room…just shifted, like a light switch—I knew that something wasn’t right. I knew that this was not going to be the dick-sucking fest that it usually was. I remember kind of looking up to them….
Dave said, ‘Hey, listen up, this is how this is going to go.’ He said, ‘I’m going to teach you a lesson. And you’re not going to like it.’ I shouted every version of a safeword that I could think of. I said, ‘Red uncle, yellow, Disneyland!’ Letting them know this is not consensual. ‘This is my safeword! I want out!’ And they repeatedly just said, ‘No, you’re gonna fuckin’ sit here and enjoy this. And we had not been playing with safewords. And as it turned out, safewords didn’t do me any good anyway. I was confined into this cage where they could choose my fate. They were omnipotent. They wanted full control and I couldn’t get away. Then they went through various heinous and vocal psychological warfare tactics for hours on me, that I ultimately kind of had to just survive through and try not to give their words too much weight because the gravity of what was said was too intense. The things they badgered me with deliberately incited ultimate fear—I was scared for my life.
They threatened him with death and menacingly tortured Daniel with realistic scenarios, even claimed they called a couple guys from the Mafia to come to the dungeon to slowly and painfully kill him. The cage was tossed about with no regard as to what was happening to Daniel inside of it. They remarked about his pro dom lifestyle and his way of living, trying to break him down. It was the worst possible thing that could have happened. This continued for six hours straight until the two men left him in the cage and deserted the dungeon.
Daniel eventually figured out a way to pick up the cage and get his legs through the bars which were pressing against his shins with each step, banging against them, bruising him. In his fragile condition he managed to get all the way to the door of his office, still in the cage, and open it.
Daniel V.: I did eventually get out. After very awkwardly moving the cage while being trapped inside it, I did manage to get to the location where my personal belongings were. In my office, I found the key that matched the cages lock. Thankfully, the key turned and opened the cage door.
Daniel ran like hell and couldn’t remain in Long Beach for fear the men would find him. Eventually a friend got him a flight to New York where Daniel would start the slow journey to recovery.
Several months later he went back to Long Beach to his dungeon warehouse and the entire place had been ransacked. Most of his leather, gear and personal play equipment had been stolen.
Drummer: When you discovered they had possibly stolen all your leather from the dungeon, did you try and get it back? Did you call the police?
Daniel V.: I didn’t even know where these guys actually lived. Mike always came to my house. I mean, it was a perfect setup. It’s everything you would see on ‘Dateline’. They really set it up perfectly. I did not pursue. To me they weren’t just thieves, they were psychopaths or sociopaths. So even if I decided to go to Mike’s or Dave’s house to find my stuff, I just couldn’t. You know, if I wasn’t so afraid for my life, I might have chased him down, I might have been less afraid to call the police. I felt let down by the police, who saw a homosexual situation they refused to take seriously. Their response and lack of care was unfortunate.
Drummer: Do you think these kinds of incidences happen often and go unreported?
Daniel V.: Oh, unfortunately, I’m gonna say yes to that answer. I do think it is not reported nearly as often as it happens.
Drummer: Well, hopefully, your story will help others who have experienced sexual assault and help others read into similar situations. Final question—with this experience in your past, have you found a way to help educate others on consent?
Daniel V.: I have been a part of the leather community for almost three decades, and with this experience I think I have a unique voice and viewpoint. I’m thinking I want to be a mentor. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, across the gay and leather scenes, the AIDS crisis caused us to lose a lot of mentors, and I think our youth of today needs this kind of guidance. Particularly, young leathermen need mentors because our whole scene has become so fetishized and ultimately mainstream. We are not the underground scene we used to be. Therefore, there are people coming into this with an objectification of their fetishes. So it’s time we take care of and teach our younger generations in an accommodating way. We can teach them about consent and the proper leather etiquette to help guide them to make positive steps and hot kinky scenes without rape. This way they won’t end up hurting anyone. I want to be able to use my unique views and my caring human nature to make a safe space for all of us. Everyone matters, everyone has a voice. We can care for and support each other. This can be a safe and shared journey, and I can’t wait to take the next step in my own journey.
Drummer: Thank you for your time.
