BY KEITH EDWARDS

Staff Writer

Anyone advertising erotic services on the Web site Craigslist, in Maine or elsewhere, will now need to provide a working phone number and credit card, and that information would be shared with police, if subpoenaed.

Maine and 42 other states have reached an agreement with Craigslist officials, under which the online classified ad Web site will take action to deter and crack down on inappropriate content and illegal activity in its erotic services section.

Under the agreement, Craigslist will require that posters of erotic services ads give a working phone number and pay a fee with a credit card. The site will provide that information in response to subpoenas. All proceeds from erotic- services ads will be donated to charity, according to Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe.

"By placing barriers to anonymous posting and creating trails of information for law enforcement to pursue, this agreement will help curb sexual trafficking of children," Rowe said.

About 50 ads were posted Wednesday under erotic services in Maine on the site. Several ads offered services in Augusta and Waterville. None appeared to include services involving children.

Services posted included ads offering viewing of vaguely defined services that included nude photographs, "companionship," and "outcall," and "incall" escort services.

Jessica Maurer, special assistant attorney general in Maine, said, "If you go to the site, go to Maine and look under erotic services, there are a number of ads. So yes, this is a problem in Maine. Craigslist has national postings, anyone in the country can put an ad or posting on Craigslist, say they're from Maine, and lure someone into meeting with them. They've lead to criminal violations, including kidnapping, rape, child rape..."

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist, said in a joint statement with the attorneys general of the 42 states and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children the sweeping new measures are meant to prevent the online communities and classified ads from being misused for the facilitation of human trafficking, child exploitation, and other illegal activities.

"The incidence of crime on Craigslist is actually exceedingly low, considering the tens of millions of legitimate ads posted each month by well-intentioned users," Buckmaster said in the statement. "But no amount of criminal activity is acceptable, and as Craigslist has grown, we have become aware of instances where our free services were being misused to facilitate illegal activities."

Craigslist has also committed to sue 14 software and Internet companies that for a fee help erotic service ad posters circumvent the Web site's defenses against inappropriate content and illegal activity. The site will provide the attorneys general with information about those businesses for possible civil and criminal prosecution.

In addition, Craigslist will deploy search technology that it developed to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and law enforcement agencies in identifying missing persons, children and victims of human trafficking, according to Rowe.

"The criminals engaged in the sexual trafficking of children no longer parade them on the streets of America's cities," said Ernie Allen, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "Today, they market them via the Internet, enabling customers to shop for a child from the privacy of their own homes or hotel rooms."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com