After the verdict, Maese said "I believe the jury was mistaken." He said he would appeal.

A five-man, three-woman jury deliberated 4 1/2 hours before returning the verdict.

The 31-year-old Holladay man faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 8 by 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy. Maese was not taken into custody.

He had been charged with four counts of exploitation of prostitution, third-degree felonies, each punishable by up to five years in prison. He also was charged with engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity and money laundering, second-degree felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Maese was found guilty of all except the money laundering charge.

Evidence during the two-day trial came from Tiffany French Curtis, Maese's business partner, who had pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and from six former escorts - all whom admitted to performing sex acts for cash while working for The Doll House.

Maese testified Friday that he founded the business in November 2005 with the idea of running a completely legitimate escort business. To that end, he said, he "absolutely prohibited" the women from performing sexual acts.

But Maese said complete nudity was required of his escorts at every appointment, which differentiated his company from others that charge extra for escorts to disrobe.

And he said it is legal for a client to pay to touch a woman's breasts and buttocks. "It's about creating a fantasy," Maese testified.

Former escorts testified that while Maese never directly told them to have sex with clients, he knew it was happening and encouraged it.

Former escort Nicole Fernandez told the jury that when Maese once drove her to a hotel for one of her initial appointments, he told her, "This is not just a lap dance." Fernandez said she replied, "I know, sexual stuff."

The client wanted sexual intercourse for $400, but Fernandez performed oral sex instead, saying she charged $800 for intercourse.

When the man complained to Maese, he told Fernandez to be "a little more liberal," she testified.

Former escort Heather Wright, who said she performed sex acts on 90 percent of her calls, testified that having sex was necessary for getting future call-outs.

Danielle Thomas, another former escort, testified that Maese had urged her to lower her prices for sex, saying that $300 was too much to charge for intercourse.

Thomas recalled an appointment where the client handed her $200 and asked if she had brought "protection."

Thomas said she ended up on the phone with Maese, who told her to go buy some condoms and "make the guy happy."

Former escort Heather Tweed, who testified she had sex with about one-third of her clients, said she had "no complaints" about Maese.

She said Maese was "horrified" after a customer raped her, and he even offered to call the police. Tweed said she opted not to get the police involved.

According to testimony, The Doll House charged a $145 "agency fee" to send an escort to an appointment. The Doll House got $95 of the fee and the escort got the rest. But escorts kept all money they got from clients for additional services.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Gilbert Athay attempted to draw a hard line between the agency fee and the additional money earned by the escorts.

Athay claimed that money earned from doing sexual favors was never shared by the escorts with Maese.

But prosecutor Chad Platt insisted that by performing sex acts, the escorts received better reviews on Internet rating sites, which brought more clients to The Doll House and put more money in Maese's pocket.

"It's a magic trick to say the $145 was clean and had nothing to do with sexual activity," Platt said.

Bank statements introduced as evidence show The Doll House grossed $12,000 during one month in 2005.

shunt@sltrib.com