Missouri, Connecticut, Illinois attorneys general to meet with Craigslist over sexual ads

State AGs to meet with Craigslist over sexual ads

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State attorneys general from Missouri, Illinois and Connecticut plan to begin negotiations with Craigslist to eliminate what they contend are advertisements for illegal sexual activities.

The three attorneys general will represent a group of the nation’s attorneys general Tuesday at a meeting in New York City with officials from the Internet classified ad service.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, said that investigators in his office have found several ads offering sex-for-money or seeking that type of relationship on Craigslist Web sites for the Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City areas.

“It is blatant. It is irresponsible. It is illegal,” Koster said Monday in a written statement.

A spokeswoman for Craigslist did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday.

The negotiations come amid national attention to online ads because a Boston medical student has been accused of killing a masseuse he met through Craigslist.

Phillip Markoff was arrested last month and charged with the April 14 killing of Julissa Brisman, 25, of New York, who advertised on Craigslist.

On Monday, Markoff was charged in Rhode Island with assault and weapons violations. An exotic dancer from Las Vegas told police that she was held at gunpoint by a man met through Craigslist. The dancer said the man fled when her husband came to the Rhode Island hotel room.

Markoff also been charged in a separate robbery in Boston of a masseuse that police contend Markoff met through Craigslist.

Craigslist also made headlines in October 2007 when a 24-year-old Minnesota woman was found dead after responding to a phony ad for a baby sitter.