By Laura DeKoven Waxman
August 1, 2011

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn brought together several of the mayors in Los Angeles for the Conference of Mayors Summer Leadership Meeting July 22 to discuss the problem of underage sex trafficking and urge them to work with their police departments to determine the seriousness of the problem in their cities. McGinn characterized the problem in Seattle as “significant,” reporting that 300-500 kids are involved in prostitution in Seattle and in King County.

McGinn explained that over the last several years Seattle officials have worked to raise public awareness and dedicate significant resources to the problem. It has changed its law enforcement focus to one of prevention and recovery. In 2010, working with partners, Seattle Police rescued 81 children from commercial sexual exploitation. The city has worked to get these kids off the street and back in school.

McGinn briefed mayors on the role that backpage.com is playing as an “accelerant” of underage sex trafficking. The Seattle Police Department has identified the use of the adult services section of backpage.com, which exists in both the print and online version, as a contributor to the problem of child exploitation. While it has recovered 22 children who were advertised on backpage.com since the beginning of 2010, the department has discovered no ads featuring children on any other online ad site in that time.

Backpage.com is owned by Village Voice Media. McGinn explained that it does not use the same safeguards to block underage sex trafficking that other sites use, such as requiring that a photo ID be brought in person to an office to verify the age of the person being advertised. On July 1, McGinn wrote to the Chairman and CEO of Village Voice Media asking that the company reexamine its policies relating to preventing the trafficking of minors and inviting him to meet with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz and himself to “work toward a solution.”

McGinn also told the mayors that when movie star Ashton Kutcher began drawing national attention to the role that backpage.com is playing as an accelerant of underage sex trafficking, Village Voice Media launched an aggressive effort to downplay the problem. Village Voice Media publishes in a number of cities, including Seattle.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan explained that, in her city, 66 percent of the kids involved in underage sex trafficking come from foster care, and for them it is often a purely economic decision. Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth B. Kautz commented that this is a complex problem that all mayors should be involved in and suggested that the Conference of Mayors use its existing partnership with police chief organizations to further understand the problem and work to prevent it. Both Kautz and McGinn reminded the mayors of the resolution on the subject which the Conference adopted in June during the Baltimore annual meeting.

Other mayors participating in the session were Frank Ortis of Pembroke Pines, Francis Slay of St. Louis, Paul Soglin of Madison, Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City, and Greg Fischer of Louisville.