It's getting hard out here for a pimp.
News Radio 1200 WOAI reports the website Craigslist has shut down their "personals" section, which was widely used by human traffickers to sell little boys and girls for sex. It's a victory for groups like the Texas-based Children At Risk, which has been fighting to stop the sex trade.
"Whenever there is a disruption like this, there is absolutely an adverse impact to traffickers," CEO Bob Sanborn tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
At its peak, Craigslist was the spot to find prostitution online. For a short time, the website put a stop to ads for sex, but the traffickers found a way around it. It also led to the formation of other sites, like Backpage, which is also used by pimps to advertise their prostitutes.
The move by Craigslist comes as Congress cracks down on online sex ads. The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA, would allow sex trafficking victims to sue websites where their ads are posted. It had the endorsement of Texas Senator John Cornyn.
"Free speech can’t be used as an excuse to offer young people into sexual servitude, and the internet cannot be a safe place for terrorists and child sex traffickers," he said in a statement.
The legislation has passed Congress and is on President Trump's desk, awaiting a signature. Sanborn says they have high hopes for law enforcement to use the law to go after the traffickers.
"People will have to move elsewhere, but I think any disruption like this will have an impact."