Senators urge Village Voice to pull online sex ads

A group of senators has introduced a resolution urging Village Voice Media to take down the "adult entertainment" section of its classified-ads site, Backpage.com.

In a statement released Wednesday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) accused Village Voice Media of facilitating human trafficking and child prostitution.

“The so-called ‘Adult Entertainment’ section is nothing more than a front for pimps and child sex traffickers. This is absolutely sickening, and should be stopped with all the tools available to us,” Cornyn said.

Blumenthal accused Village Voice of "supporting an avenue for abuse and violence against women and children."

The popular classifieds site Craigslist banned sex ads in 2010.

The lawmakers cited a study by the AIM Group, which found that Backpage.com now generates nearly 80 percent of all online prostitution ad revenue in the United States.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has called for the site to be shut down. Investment firm Goldman Sachs pulled its stake in Village Voice after Kristof highlighted its role in the company.

In a statement on its website, Village Voice argued that Internet records can actually help to track abusers.

The company said it dedicates hundreds of staff to screen the ads for minors and to help police locate victims.

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