Once Again, DOJ Fails To Convict Backpage Boss Of Sex Trafficking Or Prostitution

Legal Issues

from the ah-well dept

It’s somewhat incredible when you look at the full story, but once again, the DOJ has failed in its attempt to claim that Backpage founder/editor Michael Lacey was facilitating sex trafficking with the site. They did convict him on one count of money laundering, for transferring $16.5 million to a bank in Hungary right around the time that they were facing more legal pressure. The DOJ did secure some convictions for other Backpage execs for violations of the Travel Act, money laundering, and some “facilitation of prostitution.”

But, still, to hear the public narrative, Backpage — as run by Lacey and his business partner Jim Larkin, who died by suicide just a week before this trial was set to begin — involved the two of them plotting how to enable as much sex trafficking as possible, all in an effort to get rich.

The reality turned out to be a lot different.

As was reported, only after some “accidental” document leaks, Larkin and Lacey actually worked closely with law enforcement to stop sex trafficking. Indeed, they hired a former federal prosecutor who specialized in fighting sex crimes and child abuse. DOJ documents (that were barred from use in the trial) showed that Backpage did as much as they could to help law enforcement track down sex traffickers.

But, still, the narrative was the narrative, and their site was raided, Larkin and Lacey were arrested, and all their assets seized (which might explain why Lacey had tried to move money overseas).

And, again, the DOJ worked overtime to keep it out of court (and out of the media) that Larkin and Lacey actually worked closely with law enforcement to stop sex trafficking, and only drew the line when law enforcement tried to make them go further. As a big report in Wired detailed a few years ago:

Lacey and Larkin say they were more than willing to help crack down on child abuse. But the demands being made of them seemed increasingly unreasonable. Sex trafficking, defined as commercial sex involving coerced adults or anyone under 18, was one thing. Consensual sex work was quite another—and it wasn’t even illegal under federal law.

In March 2011, Lacey and Larkin flew to Virginia to meet with Allen. “To say that the meeting did not go well is an understatement,” Allen wrote later that day. After a full hour, he and Lacey “were still screaming at each other.” Allen demanded that Backpage do more to combat prostitution. Larkin said the site would enforce a “news­paper standard,” but Lacey added, “We are not Craigslist, and we aren’t going to succumb to pressure.” A Justice Department memo continues the story: “Allen responded that ‘At least you know what business you are in.’ ”

In other words, much of the real dispute was over consensual sex work. But, because the US government is the US government (and the media is the media), they turned it into this big deal claiming that the site was all about trafficking, and (they frequently claimed) trafficking kids.

Indeed, this is now the second mistrial for Lacey. Back in 2021 the judge declared a mistrial when the DOJ kept saying things about child sex trafficking in front of the jury, despite there being nothing in the case about child sex trafficking.

So, now again, Lacey went to trial, and again, the jury would not convict him on the long parade of horribles. They acquitted him on one other charge, and were deadlocked on the rest (resulting in a mistrial being declared). And, again, even the other execs who were convicted, the charges appear to be about sex work, not trafficking.

Of course, everyone will forget all this and still insist that Backpage was all about trafficking, because that’s what the media, politicians, and law enforcement insisted for years.

Filed Under: michael lacey, mistrial, money laundering, prostitution, sex trafficking
Companies: backpage