It was the third bust of a Central Florida sex-trafficking ring in as many days. Fed up, the leader of one law enforcement agency looked into television cameras and issued not a warning, but a promise. They are facilitating human trafficking," he said, adding, "We're not going to have that. While Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and Clearwater police Chief Anthony Holloway agree with Judd that Backpage should be investigated, they say their priority is catching the pimps and helping the victims of human trafficking.
Both agencies earlier this month announced busts of six people they say advertised on Backpage and forced local girls and teen runways into prostitution. I think that's where we need to focus. And really rescue these girls. Users of the Dallas-based paid listings site can barter everything from furniture to roommates to local events.
But it is best known for its adult-services section, where a May Arizona State University study estimated nearly 80 percent of ads were for prostitutes and that 10 percent of such ads posted during eight days in metro Phoenix featured girls under age Authorities in the Central Florida cases say pimps and johns used the site to arrange dates with the prostitutes.
Judd said Backpage is complicit because it charges higher fees for adult ads than other types of listings. Authorities say users routinely violate the site's rules against code words by employing obvious euphemisms, such as "donation" or "roses," for cash exchanges. However, Backpage attorney Liz McDougall said in an email that the company is concerned about human trafficking, too.
She commended sheriffs Judd and Gualtieri for their dedication to combating "this scourge" and said the site would "welcome the opportunity" to work with them.
