Cleaning up Craigslist

New Haven (WTNH) - Three weeks after pledging to work with Connecticut and other states to clean up Craigslist.com, News Channel 8 logged on to see if any progress has been made.

Just 20 days ago, the CEO of Craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, was in Connecticut standing side by side with the Attorney General, vowing to clean up his web site by cracking down on prostitution ads.

"We're not comfortable with any illicit ads on the web site," said Buckmaster.

But when News Channel 8 logged on today, we found plenty of ads that can only be described as illicit. We shared what we found with Ray Bechard, the founder of Ahava Kids, a Connecticut-based organization committed to rescuing young people from prostitution.

"I don't see any progress," Bechard noted.

It's pretty clear that people selling sex have not stopped using Craiglist.

"It's like ordering a pizza - that does sound cold, but really they have made it that easy," Bechard said.

News Channel 8 also followed up today with Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

"The bottom line, there is a lot on that site that needs to be eliminated," Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal says Craigslist has made some progress but there are still offensive pictures, inappropriate language and ads for prostitution. He says he'll continue to monitor the site.

"I am very confident. I can promise you that we are going to continue fighting. We are never gonna surrender in the effort to make this site safer," Blumenthal said.

Ray Bechard doesn't doubt that, but he says fixing this, ultimately, isn't up to the attorney general.

"Well, here's what I don't understand -- Craigslist has on its website, under services, a category called 'erotic' -- if they just removed that, the problem would be mostly solved," Bechard said.

Craigslist says it can't do that because legitimate adult services have a right to advertise. Of course, Ray Bechard isn't sure any of them are truly legitimate.