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Sheriff Sues Craigslist Over Sex Ads

by Warren Riddle on March 6, 2009 at 05:14 PM



Craigslist, Internet purveyors of random junk, big and small, is facing yet another lawsuit pertaining to its "Erotic Services" section. While previous lawsuits have focused on the site's inability to sufficiently monitor and remove ads soliciting sex, the new suit alleges that Craigslist actually promotes and facilitates prostitution.

Tom Dart, Sheriff of Cook County, IL, whom we're guessing has never been to Vegas, filed the lawsuit yesterday, calling Craigslist "the largest source of prostitution in America" in hopes that a federal judge will force the site to eliminate the Erotic Services section. Dart claims that, while Craigslist does offer a disclaimer that prohibits the solicitation of prostitution, the site does not adequately prevent people from posting the ads and that they actively ignore the listings.

Should Craigslist have sex ads?
Yes1232 (56.3%)
No824 (37.6%)
I'm not sure.134 (6.1%)


In Craigslist's defense, the site is working in conjunction with several state attorneys general offices, including Connecticit and Illinois, to curtail solicitious sex ads by forcing posters of Erotic Services listings to provide a working phone number and to pay a fee with a valid credit card. The site has also filed lawsuits against numerous companies, claiming that they avoid the Web site's defenses in order to post nefarious and illegal advertisements.
Craigslist spokesperson Susan Best adamantly defended the site's stance against illegal ads and denied the most recent allegations, telling the Associated Press, "Misuse of Craigslist to facilitate criminal activity is unacceptable, and we continue to work diligently to prevent it." [From: FOXNews]

Are These Games Too Sexy?

    While recent game titles have attracted media attention for nudity and sexual situations, risque role-playing games have existed since PC gaming first began. Early games, such as 'Sex Games' for the Commodore 64, demanded specific commands, such as "remove pants," and required specific sequential actions to achieve one's nefarious goals. Currently, a plethora of games with bawdy scenes have invaded, or graced, the gaming world and vary in degrees of lewdness. Here are a few significant titles with prevalent or graphic bawdiness:

    'God of War I & II:'
    Press the right buttons, and gently twirl the thumbstick, to see the climax of mini-games in both God of War I and II for PS2 and PSP

    'Grand Theft Auto III (consoles)'
    The infamous "don't come a knockin'" prostitute scenes created a stir when GTA 3 was originally released for PS2.

    'Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude; Box Office or Bust' (for consoles):
    These most recent incarnations continue to follow the exploits of love lorn Larry in versions for both PC and next gen consoles

    'Leisure Suit Larry 3: Passionate in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals' (for PC)
    Released in 1989 for PCs, this third installment of the groundbreaking franchise of risque role playing preceded GTA 4 by 20 years when the title character shows the full Larry in an infamous shower scene

    'Mass Effect:'
    The backlash from FoxNews greatly exaggerated the tame innuendo and implied relations between the two sapphic lovers in Xbox's Mass Effect.

    'Playboy: The Mansion' (consoles):
    Disappointingly demure, perhaps the highlight of this sojourn to the mansion is playing photographer in this release for PC, PS2 and Xbox

    'Rapelay:'
    Amazon removed listings for this disturbing, yet readily available in Japan, DVD-ROM in which the main character stalks and, to put it mildly, torments young girls.

    'The Sims;' nude patch:
    Denisons of young gamers were disappointed when learning that unblurred nudity in this game for PCs, consoles, and handhelds required downloading a censor patch

    'Soul Calibur' (consoles):
    The character Taki from the Soul Calibur franchise continues to titillate thousands of pubescent gamers in versions for every console.


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