Topless babes at the Crossroads of the World are targeting underage tourists as young as 14 to have photos taken with them for cash — raising howls from the kids’ adult chaperones.
“They’re engaging in child pornography — that’s my biggest fear,” fumed Brian Mathis, who gives tours of New York City to middle school students from across the country.
“We’re fighting an uphill battle. If the kid can get away from you for 30 seconds, that’s what they’re going to do. These kids have pocket money. They’re an easy mark.”
Mathis, who works for the Montana-based Global Travel Alliance, was leading a group of middle schoolers from Billings a week ago when a 14-year-old and two pals left the pack.
“I turned around and he was getting his photo taken. His little buddies were taking pictures of [the women],” Mathis said. “There was no question these kids were underage. There is no gray area. When I told the girl he was 14 years old, she said, ‘It’s all right. We’re allowed to do this.’ ”
The beauties come “clad” in wild outfits such as red, white and blue body paint, thongs and feather headdresses.
On Tuesday, two Colombian stunners were seen charming a group of high school students cutting class for a stroll along the Great White Way.
The women, who didn’t speak English, sidled up to them, convincing 17-year-old Elijah Pineda of Waterbury, Conn., to dole out a few greenbacks so he could cherish the moment.
“They probably thought I had $20 in my hand, but it was only 4,” he said. “If my parents saw this picture, they’d be fine with it — but maybe a little confused as to why I’m posing with naked women in the street.”
Another babe, Saira Nicole, has been posing with tourists for a year now, but she said she avoids kids who aren’t with adults. “I don’t understand why the female body is detrimental to anyone,” she said. “Some parents give us their children to take pictures with. It’s fun. I held a 9-month-old baby for a photo the other day.”
But Mathis countered that the problem isn’t the nudity — it’s that kids aren’t old enough to consent to the photos, an argument that others echoed.
“Whether you are [a costumed] Pooh Bear or bare-naked, the larger issue is the onslaught of aggressive solicitation and predatory behavior that occurs in Times Square on a daily basis and is only getting worse,” said T.J. Witham, a spokesman for the Times Square Alliance business group.
The mayor’s office did not reply to The Post or to a complaint Mathis mailed to the city after calling 311.
“I’ll keep pushing this as hard as I can until somebody tells me to go jump off a bridge,” he said.