Backpage.com pleads guilty to human trafficking in Texas

HOUSTON – The company Backpage.com pleaded guilty to human trafficking in Texas on Thursday and its CEO, Carl Ferrer, has pleaded guilty to money laundering, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Office said in a statement Thursday. 

This comes less than a week after the Department of Justice shut down the website

Ferrer will be sentenced to up to five years in prison once he’s fulfilled the terms of his plea agreement with Paxton’s office. His cooperation in the ongoing investigation into Backpage could lead to other criminal charges against individuals associated with the company, Paxton’s office said in its statement. 

The statement from Paxton’s office reads: “As the largest online sex trafficking marketplace in the world, Backpage facilitated the sex trafficking of innocent women and children through sites it ran for 943 locations in 97 countries and 17 languages. It was involved in 73 percent of all child trafficking cases reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.” 

“Taking down Backpage and obtaining a criminal conviction for the company and its CEO represents a significant victory in the fight against human trafficking in Texas and around the world,” Paxton said via a news release. 

In October 2016, Ferrer was arrested in Houston, and a warrant was issued for Backpage.com’s Dallas headquarters to be searched for evidence.