I was pimped out at 12
Woman sues founders of sleazy website Backpage.com
The founders of a website that was notorious for sex trafficking were sued Tuesday under the state’s Child Victims Act by a woman who said she was pimped on the site when she was 12.
Now that the statute of limitations has been loosened under the new law, plaintiff Melanie Thompson, now 23, said in legal papers that Backpage.com featured her in advertisements for sex even though its managers knew she was underage.
“As a result of being advertised for sex on Backpage.com, Melanie was repeatedly raped, sexually abused and exploited by men who purchased her for sex,” according to the complaint.
Thompson said she was forced into prostitution at age 12 by a man who held her against her will and sold her on the street and in an underground strip club.
Her plight grew worse when her trafficker began advertising on Backpage, exposing her to more buyers.
Among the defendants named in the suit are Backpage’s former CEO Carl Ferrer and its founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin.
Backpage was seized by the Justice Department in April 2018.
Ferrer (inset) pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering, and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing federal investigation. He is awaiting sentencing and could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Larkin and Lacey pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in Arizona in May.
Lawyers for the defendants did not respond to requests for comment.
“Since 2004, Backpage has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues from publishing ‘Escort’ and ‘adult’ ads,” Ferrer said in his guilty plea.
Thompson attends college in New York and works as a youth outreach coordinator for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Until last year, New York’s restrictive statute of limitations for sex abuse made it difficult for Backpage victims to file lawsuits in the state.
Under the new Child Victims Act, people who were sexually abused as minors can file civil lawsuits up until the age of 55.
Before the new law was enacted last February, victims had to file their complaints before turning 23.
Thompson’s lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.