Tony Ortega: Peddler Of False Narratives, Protector of Pimps

Tony Ortega Backpage apologist

Recently some of our readers have asked if the Backpage Sex Trafficking conspiracy truly involved as many underage minors as mainstream media outlets have been reporting. Some have wondered why, if this was as widespread as is being reported, hadn’t they heard about it until now.

The answer to this question is simple — propaganda. This is why Backpage employed unsavory and unethical operators like Tony Ortega. Tony Ortega’s sole function as a Backpage propagandist was to muddy the waters and downplay the severity of the problem.

As we have seen, in those early years of Backpage lying to the public was considerably easier for con-men like Tony Ortega. Over time, however, not even a practiced propagandist like Tony Ortega could stop the truth from coming out. There were simply too many facts contradicting his lies — a problem Tony Ortega no doubt faced throughout his disgraceful career as a tabloid “journalist”.

It might be part of the reason Tony Ortega keeps so quiet on the subject lately. Every word he writes can be instantly fact-checked against a myriad of news stories that expose him for what he is: a peddler of false narratives aimed at destroying the credibility of his enemies.

Stories like the one that hit the wire services only last week in which a New Orleans man was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison for trafficking a 14-year-old girl.

In yet another example of a child sex trafficker using Backpage exactly for what it was built to do, this pimp sold a minor for sex by using pornographic photos of her to advertise dates with her, federal prosecutors explained.

Jon C. Ballay, 61, had previously pleaded guilty to producing images depicting the sexual exploitation of children after authorities found him May 23, 2017, with the girl at the Olde Town Inn in Faubourg Marigny. Authorities said he photographed the girl at multiple New Orleans area hotels in the previous week and used those pictures to advertise her services on the Backpage website.

An undercover agent who called Ballay’s phone was quoted a price of $300 an hour, the FBI said in a sworn affidavit in court records.

The girl’s mother had reported her missing April 26. On May 22, after finding her picture on a Backpage ad, her father notified the FBI.

U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey sentenced Ballay to 262 months in prison. Zainey, whom President George W. Bush nominated to the bench, also ordered Ballay to pay the victim $67,300 in restitution.

Another defendant, Pascal Calogero III, son of former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal Calogero Jr., was sentenced in 2019 to 10 years, 1 month in prison for conspiring with Ballay to traffic the girl.

262 months in prison sounds to us like a great start in punishing those responsible for sex trafficking children. Now how about some similar sentencing for the sleaze-ball propagandists who helped cover up the stories of these child trafficking pimps in the first place!