South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is calling on the internet classified website craigslist to remove ads dedicated to the state that include ads for prostitution and pornographic images.
McMaster made the announcement in Anderson Tuesday morning. He says the website has ten days - until the close of business on May 15 - to comply or "the management of craigslist may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution."
The Attorney General says craigslist entered into an agreement last November with 40 state Attorneys General and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to put in place safeguards to combat unlawful activity and improve public safety.
In McMaster's letter to Jim Buckwater, CEO of craigslist, he states the website has "knowingly allowed the site to be used for illegal and unlawful activity after warnings from law enforcement officials and after (the) agreement."
Some of that activity in S.C. includes:
January 2008: A North Carolina teacher is arrested for trying to solicit sex from a minor on craigslist.com.
November 2008: Two Upstate women are busted for information authorities got off craigslist showing the two available for erotic services in the Clemson area.
May 4, 2009: Oconee County Sheriff James Singleton said an undercover sting lands a woman in jail for soliciting prostitution on craigslist.
Mark Plowden from AG's office says the Richland County Sheriff has made 121 cases against Craigslist in the last two years.
McMaster cited "recent national events" as a sign the website has not followed through on the agreement.
Philip Markoff is charged in an arrest warrant with pulling a gun on a stripper in a Rhode Island hotel. Markoff met the woman through the craigslist website. He's charged in Massachusetts with the murder of a masseuse he met on craigslist.
Some reporting in this story courtesy the Associated Press
Read Henry McMaster's letter to Jim Buckwater by clicking here
We found it's not difficult to access explicit material on craigslist.com. You can check out "A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety" by clicking here. http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm
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