Norfolk, Va. Craigslist Is A Hotbed For Prostitution

While many folks in the Hampton Roads area use Craigslist to buy anything from children´s toys to automobiles at yard sale prices, many of our neighbors are apparently using the internet giant as an online pimp.

The weekend of March 27-29, 2009 saw 409 ads for prostitution on Norfolk Craigslist. The ads are listed under "erotic services," and feature such inviting titles as "They Call Me A Yummy Mummy," "100% Freak Of Choice!!!," and "Bootylicious Main Attraction."

Most of the ads specify either w4m (women for men) or t4m (transvestite for men), and all display either nude or nearly nude pictures of the prostitutes in provocative poses. Instead of listing the price of their services in actual dollars, many of the ads use the codeword "roses," as in "150 roses for half an hour," or "just leave the roses on the dresser."

The following is the text of an ad for prostitution found on Norfolk Craigslist on March 27:

"Don´t waste your time with the games and tricks, call the pro´s - w4m"

"You pay for companionship, anything else that we do is between two consenting adults.

Don´t waste your time on someone that may not show or show with the blue lights. Come get what you are looking for…why keep searching? Let us be your personal service (returning clients discounts)

We are open all the time. We are not going to send you anyone that you don´t want that is rushing you and playing with their cell phones and have smart mouths . We back that 100%.

Have a fetish ????? We can meet it.... We're not happy if your not happy. Call right now.

(1/2 massage 75 dollars per girl )

(70 in and out kissy ) (80 in and out hugs )

(135 hh)

(180 hr)

(250 hh two girls )

(350 hr two girls )

(150hh lesbain show )

(300 hh three girls)

(550hr three girls)"

While Norfolk´s prostitutes may be prolific in their use of Craigslist to ply their trade, theirs is certainly not the only city where Craigslist has become a clearinghouse for the world´s oldest profession.

On March 5, 2009, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced a $100,000 lawsuit against Craigslist, in order to reimburse the department for their year-long prostitution investigation and sting operations against Craigslist.

In June 2008, Cook County Sheriff´s deputies arrested 76 men and women on prostitution charges in an undercover operation.

In December 2007, four Chicago-area men were arrested as a result of a three-month investigation into a prostitution ring operated on Craigslist, the men employed girls as young as 15.

In June 2007, Nassau county, NY law enforcement recognized the words "snow" and skiing" as code words for cocaine, which led to the arrest of a man advertising cocaine for sex.

In November 2006, the Seattle Police Department conducted a two-week long sting operation which resulted in the arrest of 104 men seeking sex for money.

Lt. Eric Sano of the Seattle Police Department's vice unit, told the Seattle Times: "We wanted to prove Craigslist was in fact a vehicle for promoting prostitution."

Craigslist officially prohibits ads for prostitution and agreed to crack down on such ads in November 2008, after Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal led a 40-state effort against Craigslist. However, very little if anything has been done to stop the ads.

One of the measures Craigslist took as a result of the agreement, was to begin charging five dollars per ad listed in the "erotic services" category. However, rather than discouraging ads for prostitution, this has become a major source of revenue for the San Francisco based corporation.

Craigslist has listing in 570 cities worldwide. The site claims 50 million users, who generate 20 billion page views per month.