Backpage.com exec freed on $1M bond in case over sex ads

PHOENIX — A founder of the classified advertising site Backpage.com was released from custody Friday after spending a week in jail on charges alleging that he knowingly published ads for sexual services and laundered money.

Michael Lacey walked out of the federal courthouse in Phoenix after posting a $1 million bond and declined to speak with reporters about the charges against him. His release came a day after authorities revealed that Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in Arizona and state money laundering charges in California.

In addition, the company pleaded guilty to human trafficking in Texas and a federal money laundering conspiracy charge in Arizona. Ferrer has agreed to testify against others.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Bridget Bade ordered that Lacey wear an electronic monitoring device, provide an accounting of his finances and refrain from exerting any control over the website. Lacey wore a black and white striped jail suit during a bail hearing Friday. His only comments came when he told the judge that he understood the conditions of his release.

“I do, your honor,” Lacey said.

Lacey, Backpage.com cofounder James Larkin and five employees were arrested last week on federal charges. Larkin remains in jail and has a bail hearing Monday.

The federal indictment in Arizona alleges Backpage.com ignored warnings to stop running advertisements promoting prostitution, sometimes involving children, because the site had brought in $500 million in prostitution-related revenues since its inception in 2004.

Lacey, Larkin and four of the five employees charged in the federal case in Arizona have pleaded not guilty.