Is Craigslist World's Biggest Bordello?

Prostitutes Value Online Ad Site As A Screening Tool; Police Use It To Find Sex Offenders

(CNET)  Catherine is a 35-year-old sex worker in San Francisco who relies on Craigslist to reduce the physical risks often faced by a woman in her line of work.

"Craigslist is important to helping us avoid violence," says the woman, who is originally from Europe. "Craigslist is a way to filter out that kind of person ... and with Craigslist there is no need for pimps."

For people in her trade, she adds in a thick accent, "Craigslist is vital."

It is also why Chicago Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Thursday sued the popular Internet classified service, accusing Craigslist of being one of the largest sources of prostitution in the country.

In an interview with CNET News, Dart said that the kind of sex services being advertised on Craigslist frequently involves minors as well as people forced into prostitution against their will. The federal lawsuit filed by Dart's office claims that Craigslist's erotic section is a powerful marketing tool for pimps and prostitutes and makes it easier for criminals to elude police.

"This (lawsuit) was my act of last resort," Dart said. "We're seeing some outrageous stuff here that we hadn't seen before. Our people on the street have seen the volume increase. It's become much more complicated for us. We can debate the whole 'Pretty Woman' thing. If a woman decides that this is a viable choice for employment, but that isn't the ones we're focused on."

He detailed how women were performing sex acts while their children were unattended in the next room. Dart described the many juveniles arrested when police followed up on suspicious Craigslist ads.

"We arrested numerous juveniles over the last two years," Dart said. "What we found is that they weren't advertised as juveniles in most of them. We walk in to hear: 'You want a juvenile? We got a juvenile. You'll have to pay more but we have her for you.'"

At the same time, however, this is a story that underscores how one of the world's newest technologies has become a vital part of one of the world's oldest occupations. For the majority of Craigslist users - the millions who sell sofas, rent rooms, or find Spanish tutors every day - a steamy online brothel juxtaposed with Craigslist's plain-wrap classified pages may seem unlikely. But with the emergence of the Internet as a vital communications medium, it was only a matter of time before sex for hire infiltrated the listings on Craigslist as well.

A Craigslist spokeswoman said Thursday that criminal acts are rare at the site compared with the overwhelming amount of legal activity. She added that Craigslist helps law enforcement track down criminals every day. (In response to the sheriff's lawsuit, Craigslist can claim to be immune from liability thanks to Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.)

Catherine, who has lived in the United States for 10 years, spoke with
CNET News on the condition that she would remain anonymous. She asked to be identified in the article as "Catherine," after the actress, Catherine Deneuve, who played the role of a young housewife moonlighting as a prostitute in the film "Belle de Jour."

Taking issue with Dart's portrayal, Catherine argued that Craigslist provided a safety net for her and other sex workers who use the service to screen out prospective clients who may be violent. Craigslist and the Internet give her a chance to communicate with a client to weed out those she senses may not be acceptable.

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Tune in to CBS News' "The Early Show" next week for a special report on everything you need to know before getting on Craigslist.

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If access to Craigslist's bulletin board listings was shut off, Catherine says that many sex workers would be walking the streets.

Craigslist and the police

Over the years, police have found that Craigslist's erotic services ads can actually be useful when pursuing criminal investigations.

A 1997 article in the New York Times reported that a covert police ad on Craigslist in November by Seattle police led to the arrests of 71 men, including a bank officer, a construction worker and a surgeon. Police in Jacksonville, Fla. posted a single ad that drew 33 responses.

In July 2006, Detective Brad Conners of the Santa Rosa, Calif., police department posted multiple messages on the local Craigslist site posing as women offering erotic services. One ad Conners posted as "Emily" offered oral sex for $100.

An ad he posted from a woman named "Summer" drew a response from a
39-year-old man named Christopher Scarberry, who used the e-mail address [e-mail]. Even after learning that "Summer" was 13 years old, he agreed to meet her at a parking garage and said he would be driving a white Chevrolet Corsica.

Santa Rosa police arrested Scarberry, and discovered $145 in cash on his person. He admitted to responding to the ad, but during the subsequent trial objected to the detective's claim that the encounter clearly involved sex for money. (He was sentenced to probation and was required to register as a sex offender.)

Det. Conners nabbed another respondent the same month. Again using the name "Summer," Conners posted an ad saying: "i talked 2 sum of u last week but I wuznt able 2 meet w/ some of u. i made some last week and it wuznt so bad, so im tryin to make a little more, can u help me out? i dont have pics, but im yung, cute, and blond bjs 100."

This time Michael Harris, a 45-year-old welfare investigator for the Department of Social Services in nearby Mendocino County replied. Using the name "hardbody_hercules," Harris typed: "I must have missed your ad last week, sounds pretty interesting. I'd love to know what's up. Want to fill me in on the details. I'm off work all day and need to get into something special, might that be you. Hit me up."

"Summer" replied by saying she was 13 and the two agreed to meet. Santa Rosa detectives posing as skateboarders arrested Harris at the parking garage, where they found $100 and four flavored condoms in his pockets. Harris was convicted of one felony count of attempting to commit a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14.

In New York City, an FBI agent had the same idea, posting an ad on Craigslist that offered the "freshest, youngest girls."

Timothy McDarrah, the 43-year-old former "Hot Stuff" editor at US Weekly magazine, replied. He asked "what it'll cost for the cutest white 14 year old girl with a pony tail in the whole 8 grade." McDarrah agreed to pay $200 for oral sex on July 7, 2005, but never showed up to the rendezvous.

He did continue to chat online with an undercover FBI agent posing as 13-year-old "Julie," and was eventually arrested, convicted of using a computer to entice a minor into having sex, and sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Police have also used Craigslist to identify - and arrest - sex workers.

Detective John Harrigan on the vice squad of the Long Beach Police Department replied to a Craigslist ad by "Katie," who offered $200 for "a nude rubdown," or $250 for "full service with protection," apparently meaning intercourse with a condom. The woman, Sandra Kole, and her pimp, Robert Pimental, were arrested. (Pimental was sentenced to three years in prison for pimping.)

A Craiglist investigation by the San Francisco Police Department zeroed in on advertisements for a 19-year-old woman named "Stacy." Police discovered that she was really 14 years old and staying with her pimp in a Quality Inn in South San Francisco.

As previously reported by CNET News, police began closely monitoring Craiglist's casual encounters section for evidence of human trafficking during the Republican and Democratic conventions. (Sex ads on Craigslist spiked during the Democratic National Convention in Denver.)

Neither the police nor advocacy groups interested in the topic found any evidence of human trafficking - meaning the involvement of people under 18 years old, or situations involving coercion - at either event. Nor was there evidence of additional prostitution, at least measured by the number of arrests.

Craigslist has pledged to implement new measures designed to discourage people from using the site's erotic services section for prostitution. The privately held company responded in November to complaints from state attorneys general that the site's administrators were allowing users to post ads for prostitution in violation of its own terms of service.

Craigslist managers said they would adopt new measures, such as requiring anyone who posted an ad in the exotic services section to provide a valid credit card and phone number. The idea is that anyone planning to break the law will be reluctant to identify themselves.

Catherine said that the measures are easily circumvented.

Dart said he might have filed suit earlier against Craigslist but was waiting to see what impact the preventive measures had.

He said: "They've made absolutely none."

[fcs25]

Why is everyone so up-tight about sex and what two adults agree to do ? Who cares if willing adults agree to a price and then have sex?It is not any of your business.

[pizzanick]

Hey CBS, thanks for letting me know I can get prostitutes on Craigslist. I will definitely try to hook up with someone on Craigslist. Wow, if you hadn't had this story, I would've never known I could get a BJ for $100!!!

[hetup-2009]

"At any rate, the cop suing Craig's list is a moron."

I so completely agree.

What is the cop hiding? Does he beat people off camera? Is he a child molester? Does he beat his boyfriend? Is he a drug dealer? You can bet money he is at least one of these perhaps two or three. Scum

[sean1z]

The Internet is a great way to meet many Women. Prostitution is legal in most countries of the world. Women make a great deal of money in the erotic industry. There are those who made billions of dollars by selling DVDs. The Ladies operating the businesses are interested in fashion, culture, and the procreation of children.

[erb0087]

"The internet must shut down this source of depravity now! Its making the baby Jesus cry!"
Posted by mrs_concrete at 10:47 AM : Mar 6, 2009

But the grown up Jesus had a kind word or two about the members of that profession.

It's there in the New Testament.

[erb0087]

Has Eliot Spitzer been mentioned in the comments yet ?

[gcernicky]

There are many laws that have lost their purpose. Two consenting adults are what they are. If I was a judge, I would only sentence underage people. One consenting minor is not acceptable, although two consenting teens is allowed. I also agree to legalize it to protect all the people involved, plus generate tax revenue. Tobacco and alcohol, are legal and taxed, yet their manufacturers know it's killing thousands of people a year. What a strange country this has become During the Vietnam conflict, you had to be only 18 to get drafted, yet could not drink a draft beer? I believe 18 is an adult, don't you?

[PatDaddy67]

credibility2,

Did you actually read the article? They are arresting folks from both sides of this crime.

[Kru311]

You don't pay for the sex, you pay them to leave.

[art001-2009]

art001*** You are an idiot. Do you really go through life like that? Thanks for posting my comment again, though. Hope the rest of you get it.
Posted by evolwon at 2:20 PM : Mar 6, 2009
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Dude, you're the one selling women for a profit and you're calling me an idiot?? Yes, I posted your comment again because everyone else needs to see what scum like you are doing and what is wrong with socirty today. If I was the father of one of those girls, I would seriously kick your a$$ Gimme a break you loser. Get a real job like everyone else...

[evolwon]

Jokes aside, recent posts (guno, holo) make me think:

Prohibition has always been a bad idea.

People are always gonna drink
People are always gonna drug
People are always gonna screw

Try as you might, there's nothing you can do about that.

Doesn't mean I'm gonna do it, and it doesn't mean you are. But other people are. Do you love them, too?

[taxchurches]

hologram5: A "viola" is a musical instrument. The French interjection you're looking for is "voila."

[taxchurches]

I've never understood how you can make a profit selling something that is as easy to come by as tap water.

But George Carlin summed this up years ago. Why is it illegal to sell something that it isn't illegal to give away for free? Selling is legal and sex is legal, so why is selling sex illegal?

Must suck to be marked for life as registered sex offender based on being convicted of "one felony count of attempting to commit a lewd and lascivious act on a child under 14" that never even existed. Couldn't you just prosecute someone of simply "wanting" to commit this crime with just as much validity, since he didn't actually do it, and there was no actual child involved in the first place? So if they could somehow prove this guy had fantasized about this, couldn't they put him in jail for that alone? Interesting.

[willcaine]

After castrating all the pimps, we should legalize prostitution, regulate it, and tax it. Federal deficit eliminated.

[gunownerdan]

Many women choose to be prostitutes.
Some like sex, some like the money.
The fact is banning prostitution can never end prositution.
It just makes it much more dangerous for everyone involved.

[evolwon]

art001*** You are an idiot. Do you really go through life like that? Thanks for posting my comment again, though. Hope the rest of you get it.

[art001-2009]

I am a pimp in the Dallas area and since I have started using Craig's List my business has boomed. Great for my bottom line. My girls now have more work than they can handle. They went from turning five or six tricks a day to doing an average of 20 tricks between 8:00 p.m. and midnight alone! And that's on top of the regulars during the day! Not only that, I have girls lining up at the door to get jobs. Before, I used only high class call girls, but now I have girls for everyone in every price range. You can have an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet, or a .99 cent burger. And I am employing a lot of people these days. Think of the trickle down effect that is having on the local economy.
Posted by evolwon at 1:30 PM : Mar 6, 2009

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You are a sick and demented human being and represent all that is wrong in society. I feel sorry for you. Instead of helping women get their life back you're exploiting them and putting them at risk for you own good. I hope you get what is coming to you.

[hologram5]

It is a victimless crime. What happens between two consenting adults should be just that... Between two consenting adults. legalize it and viola.. Problem solved.

[gunownerdan]

LEGALIZE AND REGULATE PROSTITUTION.

Problem solved!

[evolwon]

I am a pimp in the Dallas area and since I have started using Craig's List my business has boomed. Great for my bottom line. My girls now have more work than they can handle. They went from turning five or six tricks a day to doing an average of 20 tricks between 8:00 p.m. and midnight alone! And that's on top of the regulars during the day! Not only that, I have girls lining up at the door to get jobs. Before, I used only high class call girls, but now I have girls for everyone in every price range. You can have an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet, or a .99 cent burger. And I am employing a lot of people these days. Think of the trickle down effect that is having on the local economy.