WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) joined a group of bipartisan lawmakers in sending a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking that immediate action be taken to end facilitation of sexual trafficking by websites like Backpage.com. The letter urges the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fully prosecute instances where the facilitation of unlawful sexual exploitation occurs. The 44 Members of Congress also asked the DOJ to report back to Congress on instances where unclear or insufficient laws make legal action difficult.

“Plain and simple, websites like Backpage.com are profiting off the exploitation of our children,” said Congressman Paulsen. “With tens of thousands of young women and men trafficked in the United States, we cannot wait on this issue any longer. The Department of Justice needs to use all legal tools at its disposal to rid our communities of the scourge of sex trafficking.” 

The letter shares the story of a man who used Backpage.com to advertise sexual services from a 13-year-old girl, even going so far as tattooing his name on her eyelids to mark her as his property.

Congressman Paulsen has long been an advocate for combating sex trafficking and has testified in front of a Ways and Means Subcommittee about what can be done to address the issue. He is authoring two bills, H.R. 2744, the Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act and H.R. 3610, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act. H.R. 2744 addresses the high prevalence of sex trafficking of youth in foster care and the lack of reliable data while H.R. 3610 expands safe harbor laws and ensures that minors who are trafficked are treated as victims instead of criminals.   

Text of the letter can be found here.

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