Alarming news was reported on April 13, 2018 where Special Counsel Robert Mueller, as FBI Director, awarded BackPage CEO Carl Ferrer recognition from the Justice Department and FBI for working in an investigative capacity to assist the FBI. The award was bestowed on Ferrer and specifically Backpage.com by the FBI in May, 2011. Mueller, as FBI Director at the time signed the award.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children had identified Backpage.com as a primary online marketplace for child sex trafficking ads on the internet. The website was subpoenaed by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on October, 2015. Backpage.com did not answer, so the Senate took a rare move and held Backpage.com in contempt of Congress; which hadn’t been done since 1995.

From May, 2011, Mueller as Director of the FBI awarded Ferrer for assisting the FBI in an investigative capacity then was allowed to function for five and half years longer through October 7, 2016 when Carl Ferrer was finally arrested on pimping charges .

Why did the FBI allow Backpage.com to continue functioning as a child sex trafficking site and ring. Backpage.com was founded in 2004 by Michael Lacey and James Larkin. In 2012, Backpage.com broke off from its parent company and became its own entity with Carl Ferrer as CEO, according to court documents. It’s clear to many, Mueller from the FBI was protecting Carl Ferrer involving money laundering from child trafficking. These people are out of their minds to be involved and allowing the most horrific crimes done to innocent children.  

Backpage.com functioned much like Craigslist.com but more permissive for adult content. American Express, Mastercard and Visa stopped allowing cardholders to make payments on the site in 2015. Mastercard and Visa acted after an Illinois sheriff estimated Backpage.com was making about $100 million per year from adult advertising, and he lobbied the credit card companies to take action.

Senators Rob Portman and Claire McCaskill were heading up the Senate investigation. Backpage.com was “the most important player” in the commercial sex advertising market. The Senate investigators found Backpage.com screens posts before they appear online and the site removed key words from ads that could tip off law enforcement officials for illegal activity.

On October 7, 2016 Carl Ferrer was finally arrested on pimping charges. The CEO of the adult classifieds ads portal Backpage.com was in Texas on allegation of sex trafficking and pimping involving underage victims. Why did it take the FBI so long to close the web site especially involving the harming and sexually exploiting innocent children?

Two other men characterized by California’s attorney general as major shareholders in the company, Michael Lacey and James Larkin were charged with conspiracy to commit pimping.

A special agent with the California Department of Justice said in court documents that “for at least the last five years, defendants have known that their website is the United States hub for the illegal sex trade,” and that many ads involved the victims of sex trafficking, including children.

An investigation started in 2014 involved an undercover agent arranging meeting with prostitutes through the site and creating ads advertising escort services, according to the documents.

Michael Horowitz’s, Department of Justice Inspector General, his first long-awaited report accused outgoing FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of improper leaking to the press and deliberately misleading DOJ-IG investigators. Horowitz is an Obama appointee but has taken an active role against the corruption by questioning the FBI’s role and those of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former FBI Director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller who are all friends and have worked together in the past for Hillary Clinton. All are in violation at the very minimum, federal law CFR 28 Conflict of Interest.