PHOENIX (AP) — Sentencing has been postponed until July 2020 for two Backpage.com managers convicted in cases that accuse the site of ignoring warnings to stop running prostitution ads.
CEO Carl Ferrer had pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in Arizona.
Ferrer acknowledged knowing a majority of Backpage's revenues came from escort ads and conspiring to sanitize ads by removing photos and words that were indicative of prostitution and publishing a revised version of the notices.
Sales and marketing director Dan Hyer pleaded guilty to conspiring to facilitate prostitution in a scheme to give free ads to prostitutes to draw them away from competitors.
Six others affiliated with Backpage.com, including founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, are scheduled for trial in May 2020.
They have pleaded not guilty.
