Exhibit A

Exhibit Government 

Characterization of 

Testimony

Actual Testimony Commentary

162 In Ex. 162, P.R.

complained about the 

removal of an image 

from one of her ads, 

and Ferrer testified 

that she provided him 

that image as an email 

attachment. 9/14/23 

p.m. Tr. at 84:24-

85:11; Exs. 162, 162a.

Q. All right. I’m showing you Exhibit 162 and 162’s a two-page. Is this email exchange in 162, is this with the individual by the name of Pamela 

Robinson?

A. Yes.

Q. And is this the person that -- based upon these e-mail exchanges and her 

postings, that you had an opinion that she was engaged in prostitution?

A. Yes.

***

Q. So looking at Page 2 of 162, what question is Pamela Robinson asking 

Carl at carl@backpage.com?

A. She’s asking, “can i use the promo code to get a discount on my escort 

ads?”

Q. And what do you respond? What does carl@backpage.com respond?

A. “Yes. It will work in any category. Carl.”

***

Q. All right. Let’s look at -- so in this exchange with Pamela Robinson does 

she -- does she have a complaint about the removal of an image?

A. Yes.

Q. All right. So looking at -- this is just for the witness’ eyes only. Does she 

provide you as an attachment the image that got removed?

A. Yes, she does.

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 80:7-14; 80:24-81:5; 84:24-85:7.

The prosecutor asked Ferrer whether 

Robinson “provide[d] you as an 

attachment the image,” but only after

the prosecutor twice questioned 

Ferrer about Robinson emailing 

carl@backpage.com (not Ferrer). In

one of the questions, the prosecutor 

corrected the question, changing 

“you” to “carl@backpage.com.” 

163 Ferrer confirmed that 

Ex. 163 was an email 

exchange between 

himself and P.R.

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 

86:3-15.

Q. So 163, is this also an e-mail exchange between you and Pamela 

Robinson?

A. Yes, it is.

***

Q. All right, and then going to the first page of 163. What does Pamela 

Robinson -- what is she saying to you down here below?

A. Pamela Robinson writes, “Please let me edit my ad to this ad below and I 

will cancel my complaint with the Better Business Bureau. companionship 

and massage services are NOT illegal. Nothing sexual is implied here.”

Q. And then what does carl@backpage.com tell her?

A. “Ok, please try editing the ad now. Carl.”

The prosecutor initially asked Ferrer 

whether the email exchange was 

“between you and Pamela 

Robinson,” but then twice asked 

Ferrer “what does 

carl@backpage.com tell her” (not 

what do you tell her). 

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 2031-1 Filed 01/16/24 Page 1 of 4
Exhibit A

***

Q. And then what does carl@backpage tell her?

A. “Read the posting rules. One hour rates minimum at this time.”

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 86:13-15; 87:11-19; 88:10-12.

164 He testified that Ex. 

164 was a marketing 

email that he “would

write up and then have 

Scott Spear approve 

before I sent it out.”

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 

89:19-90:5.

Q. All right. Then let’s go to Exhibit 164 for the witness’ eyes only. Now, 

Exhibit 164, is this also a continuation of an exchange between you and 

Pam -- or carl@backpage and Pamela Robinson?

A. Yes.

***

Q. What is this? Can you tell us what -- what is this in effort -- or what are 

you saying here to Pamela Robinson?

A. So Pamela Robinson, she received a marketing e-mail from

carl@backpage.com and it had her last post on 2010 March 27th in the 

category of biz ops.

9 Q. All right. And then -- so why is she receiving this --this -- is this an 

automatic e-mail that she’s receiving or what is this?

A. It’s – it’s an e-mail that’s sent to clients who –who’s (sic) e-mail address is 

inactive. There’s no active ad and it’s sent like bulk e-mail.

Q. Okay. And what’s the point of the e-mail?

A. Well, we send hundreds of thousands of e-mails, and the point is to bring 

inactive clients back to the site to renew their ads or post again.

***

Q. All right. And then looking at the first page of 164, what does -- what is 

she saying down here?

9 A. Pamela Robinson writes, “I would really appreciate it if you would 

please take the block off my ad for editing my ad. I have to change the 

phone number when the minutes run out of my cell phone each month. I 

wont post any more objectionable pics, ok? my ad is under the heading of 50 

red roses special-dont miss out. and my e-mail address is.”

Q. Now, what does carl@backpage.com tell her?

A. “Hi, you should be able to edit now. Please let us know if you are still 

having trouble.”

***

Q. All right. And then what does -- what does she ask you about that article 

in her e-mail to carl@backpage?

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 88:19-23; 89:4-18; 90:7-17; 93:11-12. 

The prosecutor started to ask

whether the email was between 

Ferrer and Robinson, but then 

corrected himself and asked it was 

between carl@backpage.com and 

Robinson. The prosecutor then 

asked what Ferrer was saying to 

Robinson, bur Ferrer said the 

original email was a marketing email 

(i.e. not from Ferrer), after which the 

prosecutor asked “what does 

carl@backpage.com tell her” and 

what does Robinson ask “in her 

email to carl@backpage.com.” 

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 2031-1 Filed 01/16/24 Page 2 of 4
Exhibit A

165 Ex. 165 was another 

marketing email that 

Ferrer drafted, sent to 

Spear for approval,

and “remember[ed] 

sending.”

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 

94:12- 96:23.

Q. This is Page 2. Is this also an e-mail exchange between you and Pamela 

Robinson?

A. It’s another marketing e-mail reaching out to Pamela Robinson.

***

Q. Let’s look at the first page of 165. Do you see the e-mail and the date of 

the e-mail?

A. Yes.

Q. And is this -- do you know that this is an e-mail between carl@backpage 

and Pamela Robinson?

A. Yes, I wrote the e-mail and then had the ad text – the e-mail text 

approved by Scott Spear before sending out.

***

Q. And is this -- do you know that this is an e-mail between carl@backpage 

and Pamela Robinson?

A. Yes, I wrote the e-mail and then had the ad text – the e-mail text 

approved by Scott Spear before sending out.

***

Q. Mr. Ferrer, do you remember sending this -- this e-mail?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. How is it that you remember that, sir?

A. Because I wrote the e-mail and I programmed it to be sent out with our 

e-mail service provider.

Q. Why -- why were you sending this -- this e-mail out?

A. Because I gathered e-mail addresses in the Backpage database that did 

not have an active ad.

Q. All right. And why were you doing that? Why were you doing that?

A. Because it was one of our marketing initiatives to reach out to users 

whose ads had expired but they had not renewed, and this was something 

that we did on a regular basis, once a quarter.

***

Q. So -- so the jury knows what we’re talking about, is the bottom part of 

this, is this what you were referring to about -- that was sent out as some 

type of a marketing program?

12 A. Yes.

Q. And then up here what does -- do you learn that Pamela Robinson 

actually received this marketing e-mail?

A. Yes.

The prosecutor initially asked “is this 

an e-mail exchange between you and 

Pamela Robinson; Ferrer said it was 

“another marketing email” (i.e. not 

from Ferrer). In follow up 

questions, the prosecutor twice asked 

whether the emails were between 

carl@backpage.com (not Ferrer) and 

Robinson. 

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 2031-1 Filed 01/16/24 Page 3 of 4
Exhibit A

Q. And what does she say to you -- at carl@backpage, what does she say to 

you regarding her postings?

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 95:1-4; 95:12-18; 96:22-97:10; 99:9-17.

168 Ferrer testified that 

Ex. 168 was an email 

that he received from 

P.R. 

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 

99:23-100:4.

Q. All right. Now moving to 168. Now, you receive -- is this yet another email that you receive from Pamela Robinson in -- now in 2012?

A. Yes.

9/14/23 p.m. Tr. at 99:23-100:1. 

All But Ferrer never 

testified that the emails 

with P.R. that he 

discussed at trial (Exs. 

162-165 and 168) 

reflected 

communications with 

anyone other than 

himself.

Q. Okay. Your official email at Backpage.com was

Carl.Ferrer@backpage.com, correct?

A. Correct.

Q. And there was another email that Backpage used that was

Carl@backpage.com. Right?

A. That email was for marketing.

Q. Okay. So that was a different email?

A. It really wasn’t my email address.

Q. So if it wasn’t your email address, does that mean other people could 

access that email address?

A. They did. They would often bring emails to my attention if they needed 

some help with, but it was for marketing.

Q. And that same email address, other people could respond from, correct?

A. Correct.

Q. So if an email is coming from the Carl@backpage.com email, the one 

that you’re referring to as the marketing email, that could have been 

written by several people, right?

A. You mean it could have been responded to by several people?

Q. Correct.

A. Yes.

10/10/23 Tr. at 104:3-23. 

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 2031-1 Filed 01/16/24 Page 4 of 4