Oswego Woman Featured in Porn Documentary

An Oswego resident who was the subject of a Netflix documentary about girls in the porn industry has spoken about her experiences to ABC News.

The documentary, ”Hot Girls Wanted,” shows the lives of several girls who moved to Miami to be in porn.

Rachel Bernard told ABC News that she answered a Craigslist ad titled “Hot Girls Wanted.” The ad promised a modeling job and a free trip to Miami.

“I just didn’t want to be another run-of-the-mill Oswego kid,” the 19-year-old told “Nightline.” “I was going into it looking for just normal modeling. ... I like to be in front of the camera.”

When she heard back, she was told it was for the adult entertainment industry and that she could make a few grand.

Bernard told ABC News that she made about $1,000 for each shoot. She adopted the stage name Ava Taylor. After starring in dozens of movies, Bernard had earned about $80,000 but wasn’t able to keep all that for herself. She needed to give 15 percent of what she made to agents and she also had to pay for rent, hotel rooms and beauty products.

“It’s not like you’re actually making $80,000,” Rachel said. “You’re really just surviving.”

But porn took a toll on Bernard. The shoots became more and more difficult and she began to question whether that life was something she really wanted.

“You go to some dude’s house and he has a camera set up on a little tripod and you feel horrible and, ‘Why am I here?’” she said. “It just like hurts you, like you go from a scene one day to a scene the next day to a scene another day and it’s just, like, horrible, because no one is really meant to have sex that long or that vigorously ... that intensely for that many days in a row with different people.”

She realized what she was doing wasn’t her, but Bernard thought she couldn’t go home, considering that her parents knew what she was doing and so did people in her town.

Bernard dreamed of being a photographer or a director, but couldn’t afford a camera until she worked in porn. Having made enough money to buy one, Bernard feels she is able to realize her dreams.

Eventually Bernard was able to go back home. She’s currently living in Oswego doing photography for local musicians. In addition to photography, Bernard also wants to be an advocate.

“Sitting there watching that (documentary), I wanted to be an advocate for people who don’t know, who don’t know yet,” she told ABC News. “Now, I can tell people who might be having the same thoughts that I had, two years ago, that it’s not-- You don’t want it, it’s not worth it.”