A California man who ran a website where sex workers and pimps could offer their services was sentenced to 13 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.28 million in cash and property. Prosecutors said the case involved the nation's first Web operator convicted of federal charges for running a site dedicated to advertising the world's oldest profession.
53-year-old Eric Omuro, who went by "Red" and other handles, pleaded guilty in December. He was sentenced on Thursday in San Francisco and agreed to forfeit the domains sfRedbook.com and myRedBook.com.
According to the Justice Department:
Omuro admitted that the website hosted advertisements posted by prostitutes containing explicit photos, graphic descriptions of sexual services offered, and rates for the sexual services. The advertisements were searchable by geographic location, including cities throughout California, other U.S. states and Canada.
Omuro admitted that members of his website and prostitutes typically used acronyms for sex acts, which were defined in graphic detail in the website’s “Terms and Acronyms” section.
The site, which is now defunct, used typical freemium and VIP pricing. Sex workers could advertise for free or pay a premium to have their ads featured more prominently. Customers could also access the site for free but could pay for "enhanced" features. "If a customer purchased a membership, however, the customer obtained early and enhanced access to prostitute reviews, enhanced prostitute review search options, and access to additional VIP forums, among other things," the government said.
The government indicated that more than 50 juveniles were advertising sex services on the site. Omuro admitted that he ran the site between 2010 and 2014. Annmarie Lanoce, a woman who helped run the site, pleaded guilty to similar charges in November and is expected to be sentenced later this year.
Here is a copy of the indictment (PDF). The plea agreement is under seal.
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