http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/us/carl-ferrer-backpage-ceo-is-arrested.html 2016-10-07 03:35:59 C.E.O. of Backpage.com, Known for Escort Ads, Is Arrested Carl Ferrer and the two founders of the company, which has been accused in various jurisdictions of engaging in sex trafficking, including of children, were charged. === The chief executive of a website known for the sexually oriented escort advertisements it hosts was arrested Thursday and charged with conspiracy and pimping a minor after the authorities raided the company’s Dallas headquarters, according to court records. The website, backpage.com, has been accused in various jurisdictions of engaging in sex trafficking, which it has vigorously fought. Hundreds of cases of trafficking across the country have been linked to the site. Charges were filed Thursday against Carl Ferrer, the chief executive, and two men who founded the company in 2004, Michael Lacey and James Larkin. The investigation into backpage.com is a joint effort by the States of California and Texas. “Defendants have known that their website is the United States hub for the illegal sex trade and that many of the people advertised for commercial sex on Backpage are victims of sex trafficking, including children,” according to an affidavit for a warrant filed by Brian Fichtner, a special agent of the California Department of Justice. Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said Mr. Ferrer had been arrested Thursday on a California warrant after he arrived in Houston on a flight from Amsterdam, The Associated Press reported. A Mr. Ferrer was subpoenaed by a Senate subcommittee last fall to answer questions about reported child sex-trafficking ads, but he did not show up. The United States Supreme Court