Wis. Politician’s Former Domain Turns to Porn, but He Can Buy It Back

MADISON, Wis. — Will Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette buy back his former domain name, DougLaFollette.com?

He’s not sure, he said, after told by XBIZ that the current owner of the domain had offered to sell back the URL for $361.

“It would seem like porn extortion,” La Follette told XBIZ.

La Follette gave up the domain, he said, after winning re-election as chief regulator of Wisconsin business. But he didn’t realize that an entrepreneur from Russia would scoop up the name and turn it into a website filled to the max with adult content.

"I didn't pay any attention to the site and a friend of mine asked me if I knew what happened to the site,” he said. “The last time I saw it, it had nothing but porn on it.”

The material on the website, La Follette admitted, is embarrassing. The site includes “gay in prison movies,” “teen incest cartoons” and “mother spanked by daughter pics,” among a rainbow of other porn genres.

Andrey Serkov, the current owner of DougLaFollette.com, told XBIZ that he acquired the site legitimately.

“First of all we purchased this domain at domain name auction,” he said. “It was available for registration for everyone because the former owner had not paid for its renewal.”

Serkov, who goes by the name Andy and lives in of St. Petersburg, Russia, did not speak to the fact that the site has been temporarily disabled, but he did say that there was no malice involved and that he’s just an entrepreneur trying to make a buck.

“Our business is leasing or selling domain names to third-party persons who are interested in it,” he said. “We are not responsible for materials being advertised on our domains, and we do not provide any illegal content.”

Nevertheless, Serkov is sympathetic to the Wisconsin politician’s situation and has offered to sell the URL.

“This domain name was purchased for $361, and we can sell it for same price as a former domain owner,” he said.

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