Backpage founders get mistrial because US overplayed child sex trafficking claim

A federal judge yesterday declared a mistrial in the case against Backpage's founders, ruling that US prosecutors unfairly tainted the jury by focusing too heavily on claims of child sex trafficking in a trial that involved zero charges of child sex trafficking. "I, at the beginning of this, gave the government some leeway because child sex trafficking [and] sex trafficking are forms of prostitution," Brnovich said, according to a Reason article. After the prosecution's opening statement came "Close to causing [a] mistrial," the government agreed to minimize its focus on child sex trafficking, the judge reportedly said. Brnovich warned prosecutors to keep testimony focused on the charges in the 100-count indictment and "Said she wanted to tamp down on discussions of child sex trafficking and murders of people who had advertised on Backpage, knowing such testimony would inflame the jury," the Arizona Republic wrote. One prosecution witness, a physician who works with sex trafficking victims, "Emphasized child sex trafficking above everything else," Brnovich said. The defendants contended that the "Government's opening argument was a parade of horribles about human trafficking destroying the lives of trafficked women and children, with barely any mention of charged counts and zero linkage of any defendant to any charged count." The government "Absolutely ignored the court's admonitions" to focus on the charges, which center on "Whether each individual defendant had specific knowledge of each charged ad and specifically intended to promote a business of prostitution by that ad," the motion said. The US government's response said that the court "Issued a pretrial ruling addressing this issue, finding that '[s]ex trafficking and child sex trafficking are, by definition, both forms of prostitution,' and '[e]vidence that tends to prove that defendants were aware that Backpage.com was being used to facilitate sex trafficking and child sex trafficking are extremely probative to show notice to defendants that the website was being used for illegal purposes'-including facilitation of prostitution."