Sheriff sues Craigslist over sex ads

Published 10:49 am Thursday, March 5, 2009

CHICAGO — Cook County’s sheriff is suing Craigslist, calling the popular online classifieds site the single largest source of prostitution in the United States.

Sheriff Tom Dart’s office did not immediately release details about the lawsuit or specific allegations but said in a brief advisory that a news conference was planned in Chicago later today. It was not immediately clear when the lawsuit was being filed.

San Francisco-based Craigslist did not immediately return e-mail and telephone requests for comment. Messages also were left with the company’s public relations firm.

Like many other Internet sites, Craigslist allows users to post classified ads and other items and generally doesn’t check the postings or remove them unless the site receives complaints after the fact. Federal law offers broad immunity to service providers for content posted by their users, as long as they respond to specific complaints.

“Erotic services” ads posted on Craigslist have resulted in several prostitution arrests nationwide.

Federal prosecutors accused a New York man in November on charges of being a violent pimp who forced young girls and women into prostitution. Prosecutors allege he advertised the services of women between the ages of 15 and 20 on Craigslist. And in January, two Wisconsin women were charged with misdemeanor prostitution on allegations of offering sex for money in Craigslist ads.

Craigslist had reached an agreement in November with attorneys general in Connecticut, Illinois and several other states that had called for the company to crack down on prostitution ads. The Connecticut Attorney General’s office had contacted the Web site after receiving several complaints about posted photographs depicting nudity.

Jim Buckmaster, Craigslist’s CEO, said then that it would allow legitimate escort services to continue advertising, while discouraging illegal activity by requiring anyone posting “erotic services” ads to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card.

Craigslist also agreed to provide that information to law enforcement if subpoenaed.

At the time, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who brokered the agreement, said Craigslist cooperated fully and there never was a need to threaten the company with legal action.

“I am fully convinced that Craigslist wants to stop this activity as much as we do,” Blumenthal said.

Also in November, Craigslist filed lawsuits against more than a dozen software and Internet companies that help people who post erotic service ads to circumvent the Web site’s defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity.