HARTFORD, Conn. -- The attorney general wants a classifieds Web site to get rid of sexually explicit and illegal content.

Craigslist.com has been accused of providing a venue for soliciting prostitution. Last week, a local woman was arrested for advertising sexual services on the site.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said his office has communicated for several months with Craigslist and that he sent a letter to Craigslist's attorney after the discussions.

"We want to stop this kind of irresponsible, reprehensible posting of ads, and they ought not to be profiting from prostitution, in effect," Blumenthal said.

The attorney general claimed that Craigslist refused to take aggressive steps to curb apparent prostitution ads and acknowledged that no staff members regularly check for such postings.

"Despite my office's repeated requests, Craigslist refuses to purge such postings -- stonewalling and denying the obvious," Blumenthal said.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster told Eyewitness News that the company has responded and that misuse of the site is unacceptable.

"We regret that Mr. Blumenthal has overlooked our communications with his office and the major improvements we've implemented since his concerns were made known to us," he said.

Blumenthal demanded from Craigslist better enforcement of its rules, to which the company responded, saying new screening measures are in place.

"This month, we implemented new screening procedures for erotic service ads, which have dramatically improved compliance with our terms of use and reduced the volume of such ads by up to 80 percent," Buckmaster said.

He added, "Telephone company yellow pages, weekly newspapers and other offline and online media in the state of Connecticut regularly feature erotic service ads and actually make a profitable business out of them."

According to the company, Craigslist does not make a profit from the ads. Blumenthal's letter requests Craigslist's lawyer respond within 10 days.