Well, of course we all know prostitution didn't exist before Craigslist, so I have every expectation that it will magically disappear now that they're not going to run those ads anymore.
Fact is, if it wasn't for Craigslist, they'd never have caught that miscreant freak just starting out on his career of being a serial killer. And stopping the erotic services ads will simply drive the sex workers even more underground, and increase their susceptibility to vicious predators.
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"The risk of streetwalking has been replaced with the risk of an anonymous forum where you really don't know who you're dealing with—which can embolden some people to do things, act out fantasies they might not do in person," says Dan Satterberg, the King County prosecutor handling Skelton's case. "And it's too big to be policed."
In Massachusetts, police used computer records to arrest 23-year-old Boston University medical student Philip Markoff in April and charge him with murder, alleging that he had terrorized a woman who advertised her services on the site and killed another woman from New York that he allegedly met on Craigslist. Markoff has pleaded not guilty.
In February a nationwide sex sting orchestrated by the FBI found more than 2,800 child-prostitution ads had been posted on Craigslist. Forty-eight teenage prostitutes, some as young as 13, were uncovered during the arrest of more than 571 people.
In the face of these cases, Craigslist began charging a fee last November of between $5 and $10 for erotic-services ads, which have been the most viewed, according to attorneys general in several states. The site required payment with a valid credit card, and a working phone number for verification. The company turns over the resulting information to law enforcement if subpoenaed and forwards the proceeds from erotic-services ads to charity.
Craigslist also filed 14 lawsuits against companies and individuals that it found were using the site to offer prostitution. These steps, the company claims, have reduced the number of prostitution-related postings by as much as 80 percent, though Sheriff Dart says he's seen no change in the number or type of postings generated on the site in recent months.
"Craigslist is part of the solution when it comes to combating terrible crimes like human trafficking and child exploitation," said company CEO Jim Buckmaster in a recent press release. He declined to answer questions submitted to him via e-mail by NEWSWEEK. Craigslist spokeswoman Susan Mactavish Best said the company's founder, Craig Newmark, also declined to be interviewed or answer questions.
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