Judge declares mistrial in case of Backpage.com founders charged with facilitating prostitution

A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday at the trial of the founders of the lucrative classified site Backpage.com on charges of facilitating prostitution and laundering money after deciding prosecutors had too many references to child sex trafficking in a case where no one faced such a charge.

U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich said that the cumulative effect of the child sex trafficking references that prosecutors made in opening statements and from witnesses for the government "is something that I can’t overlook and will not overlook."

Before trial, the judge concluded she would allow evidence showing that people were trafficked using the site, but would not allow prosecutors to linger on the details of the abuse suffered by victims.