http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Bay-...579285.php
A Bay Area-based website that for years catered to prostitutes and johns was seized Wednesday by federal investigators, who arrested a man and a woman accused of running it.
The website, myredbook.com, allowed sex workers to advertise their services for free and customers to rank their experiences. It purported to offer escorts, dancers and other adult entertainment.
Eric Omuro, 53, of Mountain View and Annmarie Lanoce, 40, of Rocklin (Placer County), were arrested Wednesday after being indicted a day earlier by a federal grand jury on charges of using the mail and the Internet to facilitate prostitution.
Omuro was also charged with 24 counts of money laundering in connection with alleged transfers of the website's revenue into bank accounts. Federal authorities are seeking to seize $5.4 million in cash and property from Omuro and Lanoce, the alleged windfall from the operation since April 2010.
It is unknown why authorities took action after the site operated for years. CNN reported that the bust was related to a national crackdown on sex trafficking this month that authorities said led to the rescue of 168 children and the arrest of 281 pimps.
The seizure of myredbook.com and its sister site, sfredbook.com, was met with mixed reactions.
Some law enforcement officials hailed the move as a victory against sex trafficking. But many sex workers who used the site said it was critical for their income and safety, and that authorities should not be focusing on acts between consenting adults.
Organizers with the Bay Area chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project warned sex workers on their website about the seizure, and were planning a community meeting.
"Today we lost extensive online forums for a community of sex workers to keep each other safe, screen clients, and blacklist predators," said Patricia West, a representative of the group. "While we are certainly concerned with the issue of sex trafficking, this misguided effort only pushes the most marginalized of us further into the underground."
Bay Area police officers have often utilized the site to sting alleged pimps and prostitutes. Last year, undercover officers in Fairfield contacted an alleged prostitute on the website to set up a date with her - a meeting that led to the arrest of her and her pimp.
"In my experience prosecuting these types of cases, the site is associated with the setting up of dates that often involve women who are being exploited or are victims of human trafficking," said Al Serrato, an assistant district attorney in San Mateo County. "I view it as a positive development that the federal authorities were able to take such strong action against it."
A Bay Area-based website that for years catered to prostitutes and johns was seized Wednesday by federal investigators, who arrested a man and a woman accused of running it.
The website, myredbook.com, allowed sex workers to advertise their services for free and customers to rank their experiences. It purported to offer escorts, dancers and other adult entertainment.
Eric Omuro, 53, of Mountain View and Annmarie Lanoce, 40, of Rocklin (Placer County), were arrested Wednesday after being indicted a day earlier by a federal grand jury on charges of using the mail and the Internet to facilitate prostitution.
Omuro was also charged with 24 counts of money laundering in connection with alleged transfers of the website's revenue into bank accounts. Federal authorities are seeking to seize $5.4 million in cash and property from Omuro and Lanoce, the alleged windfall from the operation since April 2010.
It is unknown why authorities took action after the site operated for years. CNN reported that the bust was related to a national crackdown on sex trafficking this month that authorities said led to the rescue of 168 children and the arrest of 281 pimps.
The seizure of myredbook.com and its sister site, sfredbook.com, was met with mixed reactions.
Some law enforcement officials hailed the move as a victory against sex trafficking. But many sex workers who used the site said it was critical for their income and safety, and that authorities should not be focusing on acts between consenting adults.
Organizers with the Bay Area chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project warned sex workers on their website about the seizure, and were planning a community meeting.
"Today we lost extensive online forums for a community of sex workers to keep each other safe, screen clients, and blacklist predators," said Patricia West, a representative of the group. "While we are certainly concerned with the issue of sex trafficking, this misguided effort only pushes the most marginalized of us further into the underground."
Bay Area police officers have often utilized the site to sting alleged pimps and prostitutes. Last year, undercover officers in Fairfield contacted an alleged prostitute on the website to set up a date with her - a meeting that led to the arrest of her and her pimp.
"In my experience prosecuting these types of cases, the site is associated with the setting up of dates that often involve women who are being exploited or are victims of human trafficking," said Al Serrato, an assistant district attorney in San Mateo County. "I view it as a positive development that the federal authorities were able to take such strong action against it."
