The online classified advertising site, Craigslist , is facing accusations that it has become a hub for underage prostitution after two young women placed an advertisement in the Washington Post saying they were repeatedly sold through the site to men who "paid to rape" them.
The allegations came as a federal judge threw out an attempt by Craigslist — named after its owner, Craig Newmark — to stop a criminal investigation over its "adult services" section which is alleged to carry thousands of prostitution ads daily. In an open letter to Newmark placed in the Washington Post, the two women appealed for him to shut Craigslist's adult services section.
One of the women, who identified herself as MC, said she was forced into prostitution at the age of 11 by a man who trafficked "many girls my age". The second woman, identified as AK, said that last year she met a man twice her age who pretended to be her boyfriend. This became my life," the ad said. AK said she knew of more than 20 girls who were trafficked on the site: "Like me, they were taken from city to city, each time sold on a different Craigslist site.
The ad was partly paid for by Fair Fund, a group working with young women who have been sold for sex. It described Craigslist as "the Wal-Mart of online sex trafficking". Fair Fund said it had checked the women's accounts and could vouch for them. Craigslist's chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, said it worked tirelessly with law enforcement agencies to identify ads that exploited children, manually reviewed every adult service ad before posting and required phone verification by the person placing it.
Some of the revenue goes to charity. That did not reassure groups working with children forced into the sex trade. Thousands of ads continue to be placed each day that list charges for encounters. Many include words that the Fair Fund says are flags for underage prostitution such as "fresh" and "inexperienced". Last month, dozens of anti-prostitution groups led protests outside Craigslist's San Francisco HQ to demand an end to sex trade ads.
