Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Over the last few years, lovers have been churning out sex tapes faster than you can say, "I know that girl."

And just when you think you've seen it all, another lust-laden pair kick it up a notch, which makes the prude in you wonder aloud, 'OMG!'

Once exclusive to the international domain, Jamaicans have now got into the act - big time. Comedians, media workers and university students and even high-school teens are among the sex-mad hordes in steamy trysts or butt-naked orgies.

The latest flurry of sex-tape exposes were published by The Gleaner's sister publication, THE STAR, earlier this week.

A television station has reportedly pulled the host of a popular entertainment programme after images of her in sexually explicit positions have being doing the rounds.

"I'm not going to hide and make people make me feel like I've done something wrong," the host was quoted as saying in Wednesday's STAR. "We made our decision to video and maybe it was a stupid decision but it's our private life."

Three days later, news emerged of another jaw-dropping sex tape. Video clips have been circulating, by email and cellphone, of a popular couple in theatre circles having sex and basking in the afterglow of their romantic rendezvous.

But why do people record their sexual escapades, especially when so many videos fall into the hands of voyeuristic predators only too happy to expose their private pleasures?

Pump up the volume

Sex therapist, Dr Sidney McGill, says couples often record their sexual activities to pump up the volume of their sex life. He, however, notes that this is not a new phenomenon, but has become more prevalent with improved technology and increasingly fanatical levels of interest.

"I don't have a problem with it if the information is kept private," McGill says.

He notes that pornography, often pilloried by the moral right, has for some lovers become acceptable sexual fare, with the emergence of porn stars with hypersexual prowess and versatility.

"So it's like wanting to be sex stars in the private domain," McGill explains, adding that couples get turn-ons from reviewing the tapes or use them as strategic drawing boards for an improved love life.

But the dark side of the sex-tape fad comes to the fore when unsuspecting persons are videoed - or even worse, when paedophiles exploit minors.

The Gleaner broke one of the biggest stories of 2006 when a schoolgirl was video-recorded on cellphone being sexually abused by three males in the presence of a deacon. The trial of Donovan Jones, who has since given up his deaconship, is set to begin on September 22.

There have been a number of videos involving underage students caught in sexually explicit acts.

According to McGill, the downsides of raunchy recordings sometimes cause relationships to collapse, because of pre-marital sex or adultery, which brings significant embarrassment when tapes hit the e-highway.

Sharon Brownsays a man who was pursuing a romantic relationship with her lent her his cellphone, because she had lost her mobile. Dying with curiosity, she scanned the phone and got the shock of her life. Her suitor was in a sexually compromising position with another woman.

She returned the phone and lay everything on the table. Embarrassed, he never called again.

Candice Crossman, customer service representative, says she would never record her sexual activities.

"Definitely no. I don't know why people do it, but all I can say is that they need to be careful because if this gets out, they can end up on the losing end," she says, adding that exposure could cause public shame and even result in the amateur porn stars getting fired.

Name changed upon request

Fight child porn

If you know of a child under the age of consent being video-recorded having sexual intercourse, immediately report it to the: