Jurors hear opposite views of whether Backpage founder knew the site was running sex ads
Jurors at the criminal trial of a founder of the classified site Backpage
PHOENIX — Jurors at the criminal trial of a founder of the classified site Backpage.com heard opposite views in closing arguments of whether the founder knew there were ads for prostitution on the site.
Prosecutor Kevin Rapp told jurors on Thursday and Friday that Michael Lacey, who along with four former Backpage employees are accused of taking part in a scheme to knowingly sell sex ads, was aware of the content of ads that had text and images indicative of prostitution. Most of the site’s revenues came from adult ads, Rapp said.
“It’s not coming from (ads for) apartments, automotive or jobs,” Rapp said.
Paul Cambria, an attorney for Lacey, said his client was focused on running an alternative newspaper chain and wasn’t involved in day-to-day operations of Backpage and that there’s no evidence that Lacey saw the 50 ads at issue before his trial. Based on the site’s cooperation with law enforcement, Lacey had a good-faith belief that Backpage was being operated lawfully, Cambria said.
“Why would you think you were breaking the law if the police were asking you to work with them?” Cambria asked jurors on Friday.
It’s the second trial for Lacey and four former Backpage employees, whose first trial ended in a September 2021 mistrial when a judge concluded that prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.
In all, Lacey and the group of former employees have pleaded not guilty to charges of facilitating prostitution. Of the five, Lacey and two others have pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges.
Lacey had founded the Phoenix New Times weekly newspaper with James Larkin, who was charged
Read more on abcnews.go.com
