backpage.com

May 17, 2012 - Transcript – Anderson Cooper Attorneys General Call for Backpage.com to End Adult Services Ads -

COOPER: The most popular Internet site for escorts is called BackPage.com. And in recent weeks we’ve reported on growing pressure by law enforcement officials and anti-sex trafficking groups for BackPage to shut down its adult services section, the section where authorities say underage girls are sometimes sold for sex.

Speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves – the victims of the sex trafficking web site Backpage.com – the Rev. Katharine Henderson of New York’s Auburn Seminary told a crow of 150 who attended a rally outside the Village Voice Media's New York Headquarters:

“As a mother and member of the clergy, I am outraged by Village Voice Media’s continued refusal to shut down Backpage.com’s adult section, even after being confronted with evidence that girls and teens have been advertised for sex on the site.”

Another “Keeping Them Honest” report about backpage.com, the leading web site for adult service ads. Now last week, we reported on the growing push to shut down the web site’s adult services section where law officials say underage girls are sold for sex. That was on Friday.

On Monday, U.S. Congressman Robert Turner from New York introduced a House resolution calling for Village Boys Media Holding, which owns backpage.com to shut down the ads immediately. Pressure on the web site has been building for months.

US classifieds website Backpage.com has become one of the primary destinations on the internet to buy sex. Hundreds of advertisements are posted each day by both pimps and prostitutes.

With the advent of the internet, prostitution moved off the street and onto the web, presenting a new set of challenges for law enforcement and sex abuse watchdogs.

CNN’s Amber Lyon Investigates Teen Trafficking in America

Selling the Girl Next Door takes viewers into the world of underage American girls caught up in the violent sex trade. Hundreds of thousands of girls under the age of 18 are ensnared into lives of prostitution annually, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Many are runaways or “throwaways” trapped in “the oldest profession” by pimps who sell them using modern sales and marketing techniques, including the online classified website Backpage.com. 

Melissa Harris-Perry interviews Actress Mira Sorvino, a Goodwill Ambassador, and Rachel Lloyd, executive director of Girls Educational Mentoring Services as they shine light on child sex-trafficking and the policies that criminalize the victims of the vicious cycle. Rev. Dr. Katherine Henderson and Liz McDougall, General Counsel for Village Voice Media, later enter the conversation as it shifts to the outrage against The Village Voice for its website, Backpage.com, that critics allege facilitates child sex-trafficking.

Most of Megan's bedroom is filled with the paraphernalia of a typical teenage girl -- piles of T-shirts, posters of her favorite stars, some stuffed animals she hasn't quite outgrown.

But then she goes to her closet and digs out a pair of sky-high silver stilettos. They are a glimpse into another kind of life -- the memory of which haunts her.

"I made my pimp about over $30,000 and I got nothing out of it," said Megan, who is just 17. "The most I've gotten is a pair of heels."