Backpage.com owned and operated by the Village Voice Media group
A large scale prostitution bust that came as a result of an undercover drug operation concluded this week with the arrests of 51 suspects for various crimes from prostitution, drug possession, identity theft, weapons charges and attempted murder. The months long investigation discovered that the connection between prostitute and customer came almost exclusively from advertisements in Backpage.com.
According to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County Sheriff’s detectives were in the process of surveilling the Inn Suites Hotel adjacent to the town of Guadalupe, for alleged marijuana trafficking when it became increasingly apparent that the hotel was being used for an even larger scale prostitution operation.
Detectives believe that management and owners were unaware of the situation.
An investigation was launched after detectives confronted a hotel guest who admitted that he had just left a room where he visited a prostitute. The “customer” told detectives, the he got the prostitute’s information from Backpage.com, an internet website owned and operated by the Village Voice Media group.
Village Voice Media is a Phoenix based corporate publishing group which publishes 17 alternative newspapers across the country, including the News Times in Phoenix.
In each case, virtually 100% of the women, detectives said, were advertising their “escort services” when in fact their real purpose was soliciting sex for money. Undercover detectives contacted the women through the Backpage.com site and arranged to meet them at a number of hotels along on the I-10 Baseline Road corridor. When money was requested for sex, the arrest was made.
In the last few years, the Backpage.com and its parent company have been the focus of several law enforcement operations across the nation and their link to child exploitation and forced prostitution allegations. At least 50 cases in 22 states have launched investigations tying the publishing company to illegal sex trade businesses. One lawsuit was filed by a 15 year old victim but was later dismissed.
“Sex trade advertising is apparently a big revenue generator for the Village Voice Media group,” Arpaio says, “making it unlikely the corporate owners would suspend accepting that kind of business. So if they won’t police themselves, it’s up to law enforcement to keep the pressure on by periodically finding and arresting the men and women who use this medium to connect for illegal sexual purposes. That’s exactly what we plan to do.”
Arpaio provided the following breakdown of the operation’s arrests:
Crimes Committed During Operation & Number of Arrests
• Possession of Marijuana & Marijuana For Sale 9 arrest
• Possession of Narcotic Drugs 3 arrest
• Possession of Dangerous Drugs 3 arrest
• Misconduct Involving Weapons 1 arrest
• Prostitution 17 arrest
• Control of Criminal Enterprise (Pimp) 2 arrest
• Warrants 4 arrest
• Prescription Drug Fraud 4 arrest
• ICE Hold: 1 arrest
• Assist/Criminal Street Gang 2 arrest
• Attempted Murder 1 arrest
• Probation Violation 1 arrest
• Driving on Susp. License 1 arrest
•Additionally, approximately $20,000 in cash and approximately 65lbs of marijuana were seized during this operation.