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New York: The prostitute at the centre of the sex scandal that brought down the New York governor Eliot Spitzer was identified on Thursday as a 22-year-old aspiring singer.
Ashley Alexandra Dupre, born Ashley Youmans, was the $1,000-an-hour "Kristen" who allegedly met Spitzer in a Washington hotel last month.
Spitzer, a former chief prosecutor who had built his career on being an ethical crusader against organised crime and corruption, resigned on Wednesday.
Dupre gave evidence in court on Monday at the prosecution of four people who allegedly ran the Emperors Club VIP, the prostitution ring used by Spitzer.
Although she refused to discuss Spitzer or how many times she met him, she told the New York Times: "I just don't want to be thought of as a monster. This has been a difficult time. It is complicated."
Broken family
The newspaper reported that she had left her home in New Jersey at 17 to go to New York to become a rhythm and blues singer. Her sudden fame may now make this a possibility. Tens of thousands of people flocked to her page on social networking site MySpace.
On the page, containing a copy of one of her songs, she writes: "My path has not been easy". She said she left "a broken family" and had used drugs, "been broke and homeless".
Prosecutors say Spitzer was investigated after two of his banks reported suspicious money transactions, which turned out to be his attempts to conceal payments to the Emperors Club.
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