The War on Sex: Michael Lacey, the mastermind behind the infamous sex trafficking platform Backpage.com, has been sentenced to a paltry five years in prison and slapped with a measly $3 million fine. This is a slap on the wrist for a man who profited off the exploitation of countless women and children. The fact that he was acquitted of 50 other charges related to prostitution facilitation and money laundering due to “insufficient evidence” is a joke. It’s clear that the justice system is more concerned with protecting the interests of powerful men like Lacey than with holding them accountable for their crimes.
Two other Backpage executives, John Brunst and Scott Spear, received 10-year prison sentences for their role in facilitating prostitution and money laundering. But let’s be real, these sentences are just a drop in the bucket compared to the millions they made off the backs of exploited women and children. The real question is, what did they do to deserve such lenient sentences? Did they have connections to powerful people in the justice system? Did they make generous campaign contributions to the right politicians? The answers to these questions are likely to remain shrouded in secrecy, as the justice system continues to prioritize the interests of the powerful over the vulnerable.
The Department of Justice’s Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Nicole M. Argentieri, had the audacity to claim that the defendants “obtained more than $500 million from operating an online forum that facilitated the sexual exploitation of countless victims.” But what about the countless women and children who were exploited and abused as a result of Backpage’s activities? What about the families who were torn apart by the trauma and suffering caused by this platform? The justice system’s focus on punishing the perpetrators of these crimes is woefully inadequate, and it’s time for a fundamental shift in the way we approach issues of sex trafficking and exploitation.
