Brief primer and how the April 2018 action factored into the GAO June 2021 findings - Backpage was known as;
First Factor: DOJ takedown of Backpage & Indictment
Backpage.com the Internet’s Leading Forum for Prostitution Ads —In kind the Department of Justice unsealed a 93-Count Federal Indictment -which charged the following seven defendants - To view the indictment click here. To view the DOJ-OPA click here1
Michael Lacey, Paradise Valley, AZ;
James Larkin, Paradise Valley, AZ;
Scott Spear, of Scottsdale, AZ;
John E. “Jed” Brunst, of Phoenix,AZ ;
Daniel Hyer, of Dallas, TX;
Andrew Padilla, of Plano, TX and
Jaala Joye Vaught, of Addison, TX
The USA v Lacey et al case is very much active - see recent docket report (or via my public drive) —Also see June 2, 2021 Order on Motion in Limine - via AZDC-ECF https://ecf.azd.uscourts.gov/doc1/025023552684 —in short Defendant Lacey wanted the Court to toss the evidence concerning;
Backpage.com’s Alleged Reputation as a Leading Source of Illegal Sexual Service Advertisements…Defendants requested oral argument, but the Court declines to hold oral argument finding that it is unnecessary. The Court has considered the pleadings and applicable law and issues this order denying Defendants’ motion
June 7, 2021 the Court Held a Status Conference
IT IS ORDERED setting an in-person Status Conference for 8/13/2021 at 11:00 AM in Courtroom 506, 401 West Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 before Judge Susan M. Brnovich
Second Factor: Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017 (FOSTA)
FOSTA became PUBLIC LAW 115–164—APR. 11, 20182 - and to be clear most know my position on CDA-2303 as it relates to social media companies -Notwithstanding the issue that forcefully confronted Congress in 2018 is the previous language was ambiguous and the law needed “more precise language” because various district courts were confronted with the “plain and ambiguous language …contained within CDA-230” it was never the intent of Congress to offer protection for those providers doing business vis-a-vis child sex trafficking
…To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that section 230 of such Act does not prohibit the enforcement against providers and users of interactive computer services of Federal and State criminal and civil law relating to sexual exploitation of children or sex trafficking, and for other purposes.
Section 2 of FOSTA amended
When you see words/phrases like “It is the sense of Congress that—“ or it “was never intended”… “provide legal protection”… “clarification …is warranted” that’s an actual Congressional Mea Culpa because I genuinely believe that Congress’ intent was never to protect those pervertedly sick individuals who “host” child pornography and/or child sexual trafficking.
(1) section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. §2304; …was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that unlawfully promote and facilitate prostitution and websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims;
(2) websites that promote and facilitate prostitution have been reckless in allowing the sale of sex trafficking victims and have done nothing to prevent the trafficking of children and victims of force, fraud, and coercion; and
(3) clarification of such section is warranted to ensure that such section does not provide such protection to such websites.
Section 3 of FOSTA amended (this is very important)
‘§ 2421A. Promotion or facilitation of prostitution and reckless disregard of - sex trafficking…
…a federal crime for those who control online platforms to do so with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of others. Further, subsection (b) of section 2421A establishes enhanced penalties for “aggravated”violations when those who control online platforms (1) promote or facilitate the prostitution of five or more persons, or (2) act with reckless disregard that their conduct contributed to sex trafficking.
(c) CIVIL RECOVERY —Any person injured by reason of a violation of section 2421A(b) may recover damages and reasonable attorney’s ’fees in an action before any appropriate United States district court.
(d) MANDATORY RESTITUTION.—Notwithstanding sections 3663 or 3663A and in addition to any other civil or criminal penalties authorized by law, the court shall order restitution for any violation of subsection (b)(2).
Now that you have a better understanding of the two important factors - let’s talk about the newly released GAO Report. And yes per PUBLIC LAW 115–164—APR. 11, 2018 —the law requires the GAO conduct “a study” every three years - the GAO Report key findings:
From 2014 through 2020, the Department of Justice brought approximately 11 criminal cases against individuals, that control platforms - this finding of fact includes, three cases against those who control backpage.com
For the sake of accuracy numbers of prosecuted cases roughly works out to that’s about 1.14 case(s) per year.
Restitution - pursuant to Section 3 of FOSTA - Criminal restitution has not been sought and civil damages have not been awarded
June 2020, the DOJ brought one case under the criminal provision established by section 3 of FOSTA for aggravated violations involving the promotion of prostitution of five or more people or acting in reckless disregard of sex trafficking
November 2020 a victim sought civil damages under a number of constitutional and statutory provisions, including section 3 of FOSTA. In March 2021, the court dismissed the case without awarding damages after it had granted defendants' motions to dismiss.
law enforcement’s ability of gathering tips and evidence to investigate and ultimately prosecute those who control or use online platforms has become increasingly difficult.
This is in due, in part that “owners or operators” of platforms as defined by PUBLIC LAW 115–164—APR. 11, 2018 —tend to relocate their platforms overseas. Or go deeper into the dark web.
platforms use of complex payment systems, and
the increased use of social media platforms and encrypted communications.
Moreover the recent GAO Report notes that sex traffickers typically use various social media and the specific types of platforms used:
Advertising (classified ad sites for sex services)
"Hobby board" (review sites for sex services)
"Sugar dating" (dating sites that include commercial arrangements)
October 2020 State Department Report to Congress on - An Analysis of Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Related to Human Trafficking Section 7154(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Div. F., P.L. 116-92)
The GAO Report cites various reasons for the lack of awards pursuant to Section 3 of FOSTA - it’s rather complicated because you have several parallel tracks that at times are incongruent— not a single successful criminal prosecution, Section 3 of FOSTA is a “relatively new law” and lastly victims might not what to relive the trauma of reliving their abuse during the course of civil litigation
As for what will happen next - I’d keep an eye out for Congress (probably the House Oversight and Judicial Committees) to hold hearings concerning the lack of criminal cases, or possibly examining the unintended limitations of Section 3…
Again you can access the GAO’s Report via this link but this conclusion is slightly concerning;
FOSTA includes a provision for GAO to provide detailed information on restitution and civil damages. This report examines: (1) DOJ enforcement efforts against online platforms that promote prostitution and sex trafficking, from 2014 through 2020; and (2) the extent to which criminal restitution and civil damages have been sought and awarded for aggravated violations under section 3 of FOSTA.
Current child sex crimes cases…
To be fair the GAO Report primarily focused on child sex trafficking cases and FOSTA and CDA230 - but in the spirit of being factual the FBI, DOJ, DHS-HSI have collared a lot of child pornography criminals. Below are a few recent cases and sentencing - this is hardly inclusive—rather a very small sampling of recent cases…
Chad Alan Craghead, age 44, of Fulton, Missouri, who is a teacher and coach, posed as a teenage boy online and obtained nude images of Minor Victim 1, a sixteen- year-old from Muscatine. After obtaining those images, he created a second false identity and demanded additional nude images of Minor Victim 1, threatening to disseminate the nude images he already had to her friends and family if she did not comply. Craghead extorted Minor Victim 1 over the course of several months.
Scott Barry Uchida, 38, of Seattle, Washington, was detained on April 21, 2021, without incident in Kepong, Malaysia, by Royal Malaysia Police, announced Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Donald M. Voiret of the Seattle Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Uchida is wanted for second degree rape, second degree rape of a child, promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, and third degree rape of a child in King County.
Navy Mechanic Sentenced to 210 Years for Sexually Assaulting 7 Young Girls, Producing Child Pornography -on November 1, 2019, Tilton was arrested on state sexual assault charges after he admitted in an interview with Town of Groton Police that he had sexually assaulted several minor victims, and that he had recorded some of the sexual assaults. Subsequent examination of a laptop, tablet, cellphone and two flash drives seized from Tilton revealed that, beginning in approximately 2014, Tilton sexually assaulted seven girls who were between the ages of four months and eight years old. Tilton photographed and video recorded many of these sexual assaults. Some of the images depict a minor victim bound and restrained while Tilton sexually assaulted her. Tilton distributed some of the videos of these sexual assaults on the dark web through the Tor network
December 17, 2020, Marvarlus Cortel Snead (see 2019 indictment) was convicted of the charges after a four-day jury trial. Snead was also ordered to pay more than $200,000 in restitution to the minor victim. June 22, 2021 Defendant Snead was Sentenced to 35 Years for Sex Trafficking of a Minor
…prostituted an adult female and a minor victim in various locations throughout the Eastern District of North Carolina in December 2017 and January 2018. Snead targeted extremely vulnerable victims and enticed them with promises of money and romance. Snead also engaged in a sexual relationship with both women and, after convincing them to join him, manipulated them and took their money for himself. Snead was arrested following a January 24, 2018 prostitution sting operation at a hotel in Wilmington, NC, where Snead was prostituting the minor after posting ads online
JUSTIN RIVERA, a/k/a “Denzel Rivera,” a/k/a “Bangout,” a/k/a “Jackie Chan,” (see SDNY-DOJ-OPA indictment) was found guilty of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking on Friday, June 11, 2021, following an eight-day jury trial —the Bohemia House- as a base of operations for sex trafficking of at least two adult victims. RIVERA and his co-conspirators recruited the victims through, among other means, false promises of romance, and forced the victims into continued prostitution by creating a climate of fear through violent beatings, sexual assaults, and multiple threats of gun violence directed at the victims and their family members.
Ruben Andre Garcia was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison for conspiring with the owners of the adult websites GirlsDoPorn (GDP) and GirlsDoToys (GDT) to recruit young women to appear in sex videos for adult websites using force, fraud, and coercion.
From approximately 2013 to 2017, Garcia worked as a recruiter, producer, and actor for the GDP and GDT websites (see 2019 Complaint and subsequent Indictment), which grossed millions of dollars during this time. Garcia pleaded guilty in December 2020, admitting that as part of a premeditated scheme, Garcia recruited victims to appear in sex videos for the websites by promising them that these videos would never be posted online, that the videos would never be released in the United States
the other defendants: Michael James Pratt (1) count(s) 1, 2, 3, 4-8, Matthew Isaac Wolfe (2) count(s) Theodore Wilfred Gyi (4) count(s) 1, 7-8, Valorie Moser (5) count(s) 1, Amberlyn Dee Nored (6) count(s) 1…case is still pending
Derrick Murphy, 38, of Toledo, Ohio, with sex trafficking and transportation of a minor…April 2021, law enforcement officers received information regarding the sexual exploitation of a minor victim in the Toledo and Detroit areas by an individual later identified as the Defendant. After investigating the information, investigators were able to identify the minor victim and rescue her. The Defendant was arrested on April 27, 2021.
Again the aforementioned cases not all of them are child sex trafficking but the GAO Report limited it’s scope because that’s what statutorily they are limited to report —child pornography isn’t a data metric they are allowed to investigate.
I know that sounds redundant but I need to make sure you understand that scope and content and context of the recently published GAO Report —but the nominal prosecutions detailed in the GAO report - need to be viewed in the correct context.
Earlier this week I had a few thoughts concerning CDA230 - if interested you can read more here because the perverse notion that some child sex traffickers perverted the intent of CDA230 is what caused Congress to “clarify”
GET. THEM. ALL. Thank you - as ALWAYS! - for your analysis & perspectives, Filey! Human trafficking must finally & FULLY be stamped out. It's getting harder & harder for these monsters to hide, isn't it?😡 GET. THEM. ALL.
GET. THEM. ALL. Thank you - as ALWAYS! - for your analysis & perspectives, Filey! Human trafficking must finally & FULLY be stamped out. It's getting harder & harder for these monsters to hide, isn't it?😡 GET. THEM. ALL.