LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV)- Backpage.com is a website that offers a variety of products and services, from job ads to selling cars.
The classified ad site is best known for selling sex but not anymore. On Friday, April 6, an alert was put on the site that said, "Backpage.com and affiliated websites have been seized."
The Government shut down the website over sex trafficking ads. Monday afternoon, the founders of Backpage, Michael Lacey and James Larkin, were federally charged in an alleged scheme to promote prostitution and launder money by running ads for sexual services and hiding their revenue. The site also allegedly helped customers edit their ads so they would stay within legal limits while still encouraging commercial sex.
Community education and awareness coordinator at Partners Against Trafficking Humans, Casonia Vinson, said there were a lot of red flags on the website. “Some of our survivors had been posted on Backpage by some of their traffickers,” she said.
Many sex trafficking red flags on Backpage were seen in young girls profiles with keywords like fresh and cheerleader. The keywords indicated that the girls were young, virgins, or involved in a sex ring.
“It's like a lot of other social media sites where you can go to their profile and see their pictures and phone numbers and contact them,” she said. Vinson and Executive Director and Founder of PATH, Louise Allison, said the site was long overdue for shutdown. “It was almost like Craigslist where you go on there and they have ads but the difference is people weren't looking for furniture, they were looking for people,” Vinson said.
She feels this is a huge step in the fight but said they still have a lot of work to do. “That's just a little piece of the big picture and they'll always find a way to get around it,” she said.
Larry Kazan who represents Lacey didn't return a call for comment and there is no listing for Larkins attorney.