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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT

Websites with Adult Ads Contribute to Sex Trafficking of Kids; Law Officers Call the Sites Helpful

Websites that advertise adult services facilitate the sexual exploitation of children and other forms of human trafficking. 

That’s the opinion of the National Association of Attorneys General.  And it’s why that group of law enforcement officials have tried – unsuccessfully -- to shut down these websites. 

Local officers, however, see these controversial sites as a pathway to prosecution.

It was 2011 when the National Association of Attorneys General fired off a letter to one popular site for adult ads, alleging it had become a hub for illegal services, most disturbingly for the sexual exploitation of minors.  With no satisfactory response from the company, and no material change in the problem, several states tried and failed to stop the ads in court. 

In 2013, the national group of Attorneys General, which includes North Carolina’s Roy Cooper, tried a different route.  They asked Congress to amend the Communications Decency Act.  So far, Congress has taken no action. 

But Detective Will Campbell, who investigates sex trafficking cases through the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office says, as much as he dislikes the website in question, it’s an important tool for local law enforcement.

"Let’s say if this one shuts down and it moves overseas, you know, to a totally different continent, then what jurisdiction – or anything – what reign do we have over them to try to make them cooperate with us? 

"Right now, the website that you’re talking about is extremely cooperative.  And I’d hate to see it move from that to where we’re losing investigative tools because this entity has moved somewhere where they don’t have to cooperate with us."

Noelle Talley from Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office says she’s heard similar sentiments from other members of law enforcement, but, she points out, the website still profits from these postings.  One independent assessment figures the company benefits to the tune of more than $22 million a year.

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.