ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Laws written long before the dawn of the Internet age have authorities across the nation struggling to prosecute online prostitution rings because of huge loopholes and defense lawyers' claims that the websites are protected speech.  A case in point is a recent New Mexico case involving a retired professor and former college administrator who were accused in what police described as an extensive multistate, online prostitution ring, experts say.  The two were cleared after a judge ruled that state law said the website they operated didn't constitute a "house of prostitution," even though investigators said the men used the site to recruit prostitutes and promote prostitution.  The problem, legal experts say, stemmed from law enforcement officials trying to apply old prostitution laws in a high-tech world. And they say it happens in many states, with authorities struggling to prosecute websites as "brothels" or pinpoint where free speech ends and the facilitation of a crime begins.
The Washington Post