PHOENIX (AP) — Backpage.com founder Michael Lacey was convicted Thursday on a single count of money laundering and acquitted on another. But the Arizona jury deadlocked on 84 other counts against him, leading the federal judge to declare a mistrial.
Lacey had been charged with participating in a scheme to sell sex ads.
It marked the second time a mistrial has been declared in the case against the founder of the lucrative classified site. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa in Phoenix declared the mistrial after jurors deliberated for six days.
Lacey’s first trial ended in a 2021 mistrial when another judge concluded that prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.
The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
SpecialtyBody cam video shows police finding woman chained to bedroom floor in Louisville, Kentucky
SpecialtyTropical storm hits Caribbean, wildfires rage in Greece. What to know about extreme weather now
Specialty