HOUSTON – A recently filed lawsuit is accusing Facebook, along with several other companies, of treating children like commodities.
Seeking more than $1 million in damages, the plaintiff, identified only as Jane Doe, filed the suit Oct. 1 in Harris County District Court, also naming Backpage.com, America’s Inn and Texas Pearl as defendants.
“Driven by profit, social media giants like Facebook and sex brokers like Backpage have treated children as a commodity,” the suit alleges. “For years, businesses have been providing predators unrestricted means to prey on victims.
“Not anymore.”
According to the lawsuit, Doe was 15 in 2012 when she was friended by another Facebook user, who offered her a job as a model.
“Within hours of meeting the Facebook Friend, photos were taken of Jane Doe and were posted on Backpage, and then she was raped, beaten and forced into further sex trafficking,” the suit states. “Jane Doe had never been made aware of the dangers of sex traffickers on Facebook.
“Millions of minors like Jane Doe remain at risk every day when they simply log onto Facebook.”
The suit also alleges hotels, “like the one in this lawsuit, look the other way” while children are exploited and “made available for sex acts to multiple predators.”
The following individuals are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, Carl Ferrer, Michael Lacey and James Larkin.
Doe is represented by Houston attorneys Michael Gallagher and Annie McAdams.
Cause No. 2018-69816