Online sex sting nets 570 would-be johns

CHICAGO, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A national sting tied to the Super Bowl netted 570 would-be johns even though they had advance warning, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said.

At a news conference, Dart said more than 60 people were arrested in the Chicago area and others across the country by the 37 law enforcement agencies involved in the effort in 17 states. Ads were placed on Backpage.com, Craigslist and other online sites, but men who made arrangements to meet escorts in hotel rooms encountered police officers instead.

"Law enforcement is beginning to realize that arresting the girls over and over again is never going to effectively address prostitution," Dart said. "If there were no johns, there would be no prostitution. It's not a victimless crime and johns need to be held responsible for their role in exacerbating the sex trade."

The sting netted a number of pimps.

In Chicago, Dart's office also took out a Backpage ad warning its officers were "investigating and arresting" those involved in sex trafficking as customers and pimps.

"They still did it," Dart said at a news conference Monday. "We knew they would."

The majority of those arrested, 64 percent, responded to ads on Backpage, Dart said. He accused the site of enabling prostitution.

"Let's be clear here," he told reporters. "There's nothing else on their site there. There's no massages. There's no nothing."

Liz McDougall, the site's general counsel, said in an emailed statement that Dart's description was "erroneous."

"Backpage.com is a general online classified advertising website with millions of ads for jobs, real estate and items for sale. Ads posted in the 'adult' category constitute less than 10% of the site's overall ad content," she said.

Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who appeared at Dart's news conference, said he and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., are collaborating on a bill that would hold online sites responsible for content posted by users.