The co-founder of backpage commits suicide before US prostitution-related retrial in August 2023

[Dave in Phoenix]

While it may have been unknown in Canada, one of the biggest old fashion newspapers with sexwork ads was backpage. It was owned by New Times until the founders sold it in 2015 retaining only backpage. Backpage closed its adult ad section in 2017 and the FBI seized the site in 2018. Owners Larkin and Lacey were indicted and the case, trial, and now retrial starting August 2023.

In March 1995 my Phoenix Liberated Christian, swing group was featured on the front page with very humorous art. The 4-page article has some minor errors and was written to be hilarious, but without the front-page art is at

ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SWINGERS LOOKING FOR GOD IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES? TRY THIS SUNDAY MEETING!
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/new...s-try-this-sunday-meeting-6432987?storyPage=3

Jim Larkin, pioneering co-founder of Phoenix New Times, dead at 74 The award-winning publisher died by suicide days before the start of his retrial in federal court

 

[stinkynuts]

Backpage was huge when I was living in Toronto (15 years ago). They got rid of it, but other websites such as leolist simply took its place.

 

[Dave in Phoenix]

While I have hoped backpage would win, I had read some of the court filings as I often had followed Phoenix cases, and attended trials and pre-trial conferences, including over 200 reports on the Phoenix Goddess Temple Case, there is incriminating evidence related to child prostitution in the backpage case.

The State presented evidence that backpage (editors) altered submitted ads that implied being underaged by changing bad words before publishing. The State showed some of the altered ads were from pimps of underage girls. So there is some basis for the charges related sadly to underaged.