by WorldTribune Staff, April 13, 2018
The Women’s March defended Backpage.com the day after the U.S. Department of Justice seized the sex-trafficking website and shut it down.
On April 7, the Women’s March tweeted: “The shutting down of #Backpage is an absolute crisis for sex workers who rely on the site to safely get in touch with clients. Sex workers rights are women’s rights.”
Backpage.com pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges in Texas and CEO Carl Ferrer also pled guilty to money laundering charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on April 12.
On April 11, President Donald Trump signed legislation targeting online sex trafficking and granting states broader ability to crack down on sex traffickers.
Related: New sex trafficking bill adds muscle to Trump administration’s crackdown, April 12, 2018
Backpage “facilitated the sex trafficking of innocent women and children through sites it ran for 943 locations in 97 countries and 17 languages. It was involved in 73 percent of all child trafficking cases reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” Paxton’s office noted.
“Taking down Backpage and obtaining a criminal conviction for the company and its CEO represents a significant victory in the fight against human trafficking in Texas and around the world,” Paxton said in a statement.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on April 9 announced indictments against seven other Backpage employees on charges related to human trafficking and money laundering.
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