Authorities say Backpage employees would identify prostitutes through Google searches, then call and offer them a free ad. The site also is accused of having a business arrangement in which it would place ads on another site that lets customers post reviews of their experiences with prostitutes. While adults may find that sports gambling is a way to enhance the experience with more than just fandom on the line, it can be a dangerous proposition if children get involved in the activity.
Federal prosecutors said it was the online version of adult-oriented classified ads and that the operators knew many were for prostitution. The purchase is being made by Voice Media Group, a new holding company based in Denver. The deal includes all 13 weeklies and their websites, the national sales arm and events such as LA Weekly’s Detour and New York’s Siren music festivals. Warrants were issued for Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67 after Carl Ferrer, the chief executive for Backpage.com, was arrested this week on charges that allege sex-trafficking victims were forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the website. Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Phoenix New Times, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Phoenix New Times.
At the request of law enforcement, the NCMEC tip line was posted atop many of the site’s pages, and some advertising terms were banned. “It is possible that this will mean a deluge of adult content ads for backpage.com,” Larkin wrote in an internal email (which would later be cited by prosecutors as evidence of Backpage’s “aggressive” push to corner the sex-ad market). “We have with the Village Voice probably the longest run of adult content advertising in the US and it is, like it or not, in our DNA.” Posting in most sections was free, but Backpage charged for adult ads and required posters to pay by credit card—steps specifically enacted at the request of federal authorities and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help identify abusers. In addition, people advertising in any section could pay for premium features, such as automatic reposting. The pair started Backpage to serve as an online home for classified advertising, similar to the sometimes-racy ads that appeared in the back of the printed newspaper.
Until its April 2018 seizure by the feds, the site was a city-based platform for online advertising, and like so many print classifieds, it would become an online hub for marketing and procuring a variety of sexual services. This was especially true after public pressure forced Craigslist to crack down on “erotic services” ads in 2010. In all, six former Backpage operators have pleaded not guilty to charges of facilitating prostitution. Of the six, Lacey, Larkin and two others have pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges. Phoenix New Times is an American newspaper that offers local and international news roundups. It covers politics, business, music, arts, events, films, classifieds, and more.
“We have the knowledge that we are not guilty and the determination not to bow before the authoritarian mindset that demanded we suppress constitutionally-protected speech and now prosecutes us for having refused to do so,” their statement said. Michael Lacey and James Larkin are accused of knowingly publishing sex services on the website. 2backpage connects millions of business owners and service partners, making use of intelligent technology and expert knowledge. Create a strong profile to help your clients know more about your service. Get genuine requests from customers who are looking for your services. “Never have, never wanted to. This isn’t really—I know this is probably heresy—this isn’t about sex work to me. This is about speech.”
At the beginning of 2017, Ferrer relented and closed Backpage’s adult section. In early December, a Sacramento Superior Court judge dismissed the case. On December 23, with just a few days left in office, Harris tried again, filing new conspiracy-to-commit-pimping charges against Lacey, Larkin, and Ferrer, along with allegations of money laundering.
Larkin joined in ’71, after returning from school in Mexico, where he was inspired by the country’s student activists. Now, Lacey and Larkin, ages 69 and 70, respectively, are confined by court order to Maricopa County and stuck wearing homing devices under their pant legs to ensure it. It’s July, and his monitor is plugged into the wall behind Larkin’s kitchen table. Larkin grew up in Phoenix, raised four children in the city, and with, Lacey, built a newspaper empire in the desert. Today, Larkin’s front yard is a fortress of cactus plants and other desert greenery.
The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Phoenix New Times and its employees or that of Zippia. Holdings of 11 weekly newspapers would have a combined distribution of 1.1 million. At the time it was acquired, PitchWeekly was profitable and had a circulation of 100,000. The two, who started the New Times in Phoenix, growing it into a nationwide chain of alternative weeklies that purchased New York’s Village Voice, werecharged in Sacramento County Superior Courton a charge of conspiracy to commit pimping. Additionally, Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrerfaces charges of pimping, including some charges involving minors. KEEP PHOENIX NEW TIMES FREE…Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we’d like to keep it that way.
Harris was using Backpage’s history of working with law enforcement against it. Meanwhile, Backpage lawyers defended the company against civil lawsuits and onslaughts from state attorneys general. This ensures that Yelp, Twitter, eBay, Reddit, and other online entities don’t face an unending string of personal-injury phoenix new times back pages suits and local criminal charges. In practice, this led to a nationwide crackdown on consensual prostitution, with online classified operations like Backpage caught in the crosshairs. Backpage, started by Lacey and Jim Larkin, former Phoenix New Times execs, is a classified ads website.
Lacey and Larkin founded the website in 2004, and Ferrer was brought on to manage the site’s operation, according to California court records. Larkin and Lacey each received $10 million bonuses from the website in September 2014, according to court documents. We calculated the diversity score of companies by measuring multiple factors, including the ethnic background, gender identity, and language skills of their workforce.