Pleasantville man admits prostituting minors:
Casson Coward of Pleasantville, New Jersey was arrested back in June for pimping out two girls ages 14 and 16 from Allentown, Pa. on craigslist.
Yesterday Coward pleaded guilty to interstate transporting of minors for the purposes of prostitution. His partner Kevin R. Mayfield was also arrested. Both of them are looking at 10 to life and a $250K fine.
The so-called victimless crime continues.
Bail set at $1 million for suspect in craigslist killing:
Bail was set at $1M for suspected craigslist killer Michael John Anderson. He’s the suspected killer of Katherine Ann Olson whose body was found a day after she responded to a phony employment ad on craigslist. It’s alleged that Anderson was the one who took out the ad.
An additional detail mentioned in the article is that they believe that Anderson shot her in the back of the head with a .357 Magnum.
Police believe Olson was killed in Anderson’s house sometime after she arrived Thursday morning. Investigators found blood splatters in the man’s bedroom and on his mattress, as well as bloody drag marks down the stairs of the home.
They also discovered a .357 Magnum and a shell casing from the gun in his room.
During Olson’s autopsy, a bullet was found in her stomach.
Authorities said there is no initial evidence of a sexual assault, but final results are not in, police said.
The man initially denied having contact with the woman, but eventually admitted to being present when she was killed. He said a friend killed Olson because he “thought it would be funny.”
At a press conference after the bail hearing, police claimed that only Anderson was involved in the killing.
More details as they become available.
Charges expected Tuesday in Craigslist killing:
Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, had the following to say about the murder of Katherine Ann Olson.
The founder of Craigslist.org believes that Olson’s death is the first killing ever linked to the website.
“I can’t recall a single case like it,” Craig Newmark told KARE 11 News. “This is the worst that I can recall.”
“I’d just like to express my condolences,” Newmark said by phone from California Sunday. “This is a real tragedy and we’re more eager than ever to help deal with the bad guy.”
Newmark says Craigslist works closely with authorities to investigate crimes tied to the website. Those crimes include identity theft cases, scams, robberies and sex crimes.
Does he not see anything wrong with the fact that these crimes are happening on his website?
Craigslist users wary after killing of baby-sitter:
Susan MacTavish Best of craigslist had the following to say about the murder of Katherine Ann Olson…
“We were shocked and saddened to hear of this terrible tragedy, and our deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family and friends,” said Susan MacTavish Best, a spokeswoman for craigslist, an international network of online communities that features free classified advertising.
Best said there’s never been a homicide linked to craigslist since it was founded 12 years ago.
“Assuming the craigslist link is confirmed, this would be the first time,” Best said, referring to Olson’s death.
Best said craigslist officials work with law enforcement whenever they receive a request, but she wouldn’t comment specifically about their involvement in the Olson investigation.
I bet you think I’m going to rip her again but I’m not. Unlike when defending the erotic services section Ms. MacTavish-Best did not use this as an opportunity to tout how great craigslist is. However, this may not be the first craigslist murder. In a sort of twisted backward way but with no disrespect meant towards anyone involved there is still the matter of Donna Jou.
Donna Jou went missing in July and was last seen leaving on a date with a guy by the name of John Burgess that she met on craigslist. Unfortunately, as of yet, she has not been found and even less, unfortunately, police are unable to charge Burgess with anything due to lack of evidence. However, it’s entirely possible that Donna Jou may be the first craigslist murder.
Now you may think that there’s a difference between answering a personal ad and a job ad on craigslist. There is but only slightly. Predators don’t usually use job ads to attract victims but it’s not unheard of.
This past July I posted a story about a woman who was approached sexually by a man she thought was a prospective employer.
I guess what I’m saying is that since criminal elements lurk in the rest of craigslist it was only a matter of time before they seeped into the employment ads as well. So no matter what kind of ad you’re placing or responding to on craigslist it doesn’t hurt to be overly cautious. The old saying holds true here, just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.
Be careful out there.
Online nanny ad ends in slaying:
The employment ads on craigslist used to be the only trustworthy part of their site. They’re the only paid ads on the site. Those days are now over.
Katherine Ann Olson was a 24-year-old from Minneapolis who had used craigslist many times before to find nanny jobs. It seemed that the last one she answered was no different. That was until her body was found in the trunk of her car Friday night. She had responded to an ad looking for a nanny that she thought was placed by a married couple in Savage, MN. The ad was actually placed by a 19-year-old man who police believe is her killer.
Police aren’t releasing the suspect’s name or how Katherine Ann Olson was murdered. The suspect must be one sick SOB to take a paid ad out on craigslist just to kill an innocent woman.
I’ll post more information as it becomes available.
UPDATE: Being the expert blogger that he is Steve Huff has a more detailed post and the name of the suspect which is Michael John Anderson.
Oldest Profession Has Young Victims, New Methods: Ann Woolner:
This is a great article about Atlanta’s perceived problem with child prostitution and what police are doing to combat it. Of course, craigslist is brought into the conversation because Mayor Shirley Franklin previously called craigslist on the carpet for facilitating child prostitution.
The author of the article, Ann Woolner, tried to contact craigslist about this and was met with the usual response.
I tried to contact craigslist Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster to ask whether he had instituted any reforms since Franklin wrote him in August seeking closer monitoring, more stringent warnings and a tougher attitude toward those who advertise illegal services or otherwise break the Web site’s rules. Questions e-mailed to a press contact for Buckmaster weren’t answered.
How long will craigslist continue to stick its fingers in its ears and go “LALALALALALALALALALALALA I’M NOT LISTENING”?
Craigslist.org a source of crimes:
It seems that other news outlets are picking up on how much crime goes on through craigslist. This is an article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that relates at least one story that I missed.
But sometimes, the questionable listings aren’t flagged — for instance, the one police say Brian Lee Nestor posted back in September.
According to an affidavit filed in his case in federal court, Mr. Nestor, 44, of Squirrel Hill, put a listing under Craigslist’s “Casual Encounters” section.
It read: “Anybody into family fun?” followed by, “bring your son and hang out with us.”
A Greensburg police officer who handles computer crimes for the jurisdiction found the ad on Sept. 9.
He responded to the posting, saying that “Family fun sounds great, reply with age, limits, a photo would be great.”
The police officer and Mr. Nestor corresponded through e-mail for several days. According to the affidavit, Mr. Nestor, who also solicited child pornography, became frustrated: “Look I’m tired of these endless e-mails. … I’m just looking to get with a boy discreetly.”
In one exchange, Mr. Nestor, who was previously investigated by the FBI but not charged for having thousands of images of child pornography on his computer, wrote that when they met, the two men would have to expose themselves to each other to ensure that neither was a cop.
He was arrested Sept. 14 and charged with coercion and enticement, as well as possession of child pornography. Mr. Nestor’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
So let’s add pedophilia and child molestation to the list of things that craigslist is helping to facilitate. craigslist’s mouthpiece Susan MacTavish Best had the usual to say…
…inappropriate ads…flagged by users…blah blah blah…
But I may be paraphrasing.
A lot of people think that newspapers, or old media if you will, have a vendetta against craigslist since they’ve taken a big chunk out of their newspapers revenue by not charging for classifieds. That may be true but doesn’t old media still have a responsibility to report the news? And this my friends is news that more people should be seeing.
Craigslist pimp from Queens busted:
Carlton “Privilege” Simons, 25, of Queens, and Shernett “Divine” Reevey, 24, of Charlotte, N.C., were convicted late Friday of luring the teenage student from her home with promises of money and introductions to rap celebrities.
Once in New York, however, the 18-year-old woman was physically and verbally abused, forced to pose for provocative photographs later posted to Craigslist and to prostitute herself at hotels and at a “track,” or a location frequented by sex workers and their customers from Lexington to Park Avenue on 48th Street.
Still think prostitution is a victimless crime?
It wasn’t that long ago that the Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin, chided craigslist for facilitating child prostitution. Of course, craigslist brushed it off. One of Ms. Frankin’s advisors even mentioned that Facebook and MySpace have been very forthcoming with the mayor’s office even when not legally obligated to do so.
However, our favorite craigslist mouthpiece, Susan MacTavish Best, had this to say…
“Craigslist has an erotic services section on the site because our users asked us to create it in order to keep the personals section clear of erotic service ads. (Some folks when looking for a date do not want to have to look at ads for erotic services). Certainly, we … don’t want the site to be used for illegal activity. But we do believe that there should be a place for people to advertise legal escort services. We have over 30 million users a month. As we responded to the Mayor of Atlanta, we are always interested in hearing how we can make Craigslist better. Craigslist makes no money from erotic services because like most of the site, it is free to post there … “
Legal escort services? No such thing my dear. They may pose as legal but we all know what they’re fronts for. And again you say that you don’t want craigslist used for illegal activities but you’re not doing anything to discourage it. So basically by moving the erotic services section out of the personals you just swept it under the rug hoping nobody would notice.
What’s it going to take craigslist before you do something about this? Are you waiting for a toddler to get pimped out or worse?
As hookers move from streets to Net, cops follow:
For those of you who think that prostitutes are safer on craigslist than they are on the streets, I present you this quote…
Some prostitutes believe they’re safer advertising on Web sites, but they’re not, said Julie, a former prostitute who asked that her last name not be used. When Julie began using the Internet for prostitution about two years ago, she tried to screen her customers, but responding to one led to her being raped and robbed, she said.
“People can tell you anything on the Internet and they do,” said Julie, who is 23 and became a prostitute at 17. “What better place to get a woman if you want to do something to her? I would meet these guys and no one else would see them. At least if I was on the street, other people would be around and see me get into a car or something.”
Not that craigslist cares. I think their mouthpiece has a macro button that just spits out the following…
“Craigslist is a user-moderated site, and our users flag off ads that they feel are inappropriate for the craigslist community,” Susan MacTavish Best said in a statement. “Users are really speedy about flagging off problematic ads, and we’ve found that to be the most efficient and fastest way to get such ads off the site.”
And again I say that your normal craigslist users who use it as a city-wide garage sale aren’t going into the erotic services section. And the people who are sure as hell aren’t going to flag any ads.