Kelly Ayotte: “I thank Senator Portman and Senator McCaskill for their strong leadership on the Permanent Subcommittee on…”

“I thank Senator Portman and Senator McCaskill for their strong leadership on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, of which they are the chair and ranking member, on such an important issue because enforcing the subpoena--the resolution we have before us to enforce the subpoena is critical. As you heard today, I was attorney general of New Hampshire. I had the opportunity to work with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reports that of suspected child trafficking reports it receives from the public, 71 percent involve backpage.com. What is the resolution about? It is about the fact that Senator Portman, Senator McCaskill, and the committee they lead has asked legitimate questions and asked for documents from backpage.com. We have heard the horrific stories of things that have happened and have been reported. Senator Portman referenced a recent report in Boston about a 15-year-old girl who had been raped over 1,000 times as a result of being advertised on backpage.com. Of course, we have heard horrific stories about children. In one Pennsylvania case, a defendant forced a minor to have sex with approximately 15 different men in one encounter where she was threatened with a weapon--advertised on backpage.com, so it is pretty straightforward. In a Florida case, a trafficker drugged and threatened to kill a 14- year-old girl so he could sell her for sexual services online-- backpage.com.…”