The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) seized control of Backpage.com and indicted seven individuals on Friday amid allegations that the online classifieds website has facilitated human sex trafficking for years.
After leading a two-year investigation into Backpage.com, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the chairman of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led a legislative call for the DoJ to investigate Backpage.com in June. The lawmakers concluded there was sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation.
“The Department of Justice’s action against Backpage is good news for victims and survivors of online sex trafficking,” Portman said on Friday. “While this action is long overdue, it is a positive step forward in our efforts to hold accountable sex traffickers that sell women and children online.”
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation concluded, Portman said, that Backpage.com “knowingly facilitated criminal sex trafficking of vulnerable women and children, coached traffickers on how to evade justice, and covered up evidence of these crimes in order to increase its own profits.”
“PSI’s investigation played a significant role in uncovering the truth about this website’s criminal conduct and helped advise the Senate on crafting a narrow legislative solution,” Portman said. “The new evidence we fought so hard to uncover was handed over to the Department of Justice following our investigation more than 10 months ago, and I’m proud of all the work that was done on a bipartisan basis.”
The U.S. Senate also recently approved the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), which would remove a legal loophole that shields websites that knowingly take part in human sex trafficking from legal liability. The bill would also enable state and local authorities to prosecute websites that break federal sex trafficking laws.
“I’m pleased that Congress has taken additional steps by passing my SESTA legislation to let sex trafficking victims seek justice and allow state and local law enforcement to swiftly prosecute websites that violate federal sex trafficking laws,” Portman said. “This bipartisan measure will make it easier to hold online sex traffickers accountable, and I look forward to seeing President Trump sign this bill into law next week.”
The DoJ announced that its action on Friday was the result of a joint investigation with the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the IRS’ criminal division, and attorneys general from California and Texas. An indictment filed in Arizona accuses seven individuals tied to Backpage.com with 93 criminal counts, including money laundering and operating a website to facilitate prostitution.