MODERN DAY SLAVERY
Diversity Committee
3;CB@> E,C@>;CE,7E,A>D>EE-C)E..B:D>EA.E25B: BE @C4D@EC=6E/5@C;C9E1;C .D;EE1;C .D;E-C)0E--3E
Human trafficking
is a form of
modern-day slavery
and victims may
be young children,
teenagers, or adults.
H
uman trafficking is
a form of modern-day
slavery. Section
787.06(2)(d), Florida
Statutes, defines “human trafficking”
as transporting, soliciting, recruiting,
harboring, providing, enticing,
maintaining, or obtaining another
person for the purpose of
exploitation of that person.
Victims of trafficking — which
includes young children, teenagers,
or adults — are subjected to force,
fraud, or coercion for the purpose
of sexual exploitation or forced
labor such as domestic servitude,
restaurant work, janitorial work,
sweatshop factory work, and migrant
agricultural work. Each year,
thousands of victims are trafficked
across international borders and
within the state of Florida.
Traffickers use various
techniques to instill fear in victims
and keep them enslaved: physically
confining victims; isolating victims
from the public and family;
confiscating passports, visas, or
other identification documents;
using or threatening to use
violence toward victims or their
families; telling victims that they
will be imprisoned or deported
for immigration violations if
they contact authorities; and
controlling victims’ money.
If convicted of human trafficking,
a defendant faces up to life in prison,
up to life on probation, and/or up
to $10,000 in fines. Penalties may
be increased if coercion was used;
the human trafficking was for labor
and services or commercial sexual
activity; or the victim was a child,
unauthorized alien, or mentally
impaired person. Each instance
of human trafficking may incur
separate charges and punishment.
A defendant’s ignorance of a
victim’s age is not a defense, even
if the victim misrepresented his age
or the defendant had a bona fide
belief of the victim’s age. Similarly,
the victim’s lack of chastity or the
willingness or consent of the victim
is not a defense if the victim was
under 18 at the time of the offense.
A defense to human trafficking
charges may include prostitution if
the victim was voluntarily engaged
in prostitution. Although a person
who hired a prostitute might not
be guilty of human trafficking,
they may be guilty of solicitation
of prostitution. Similarly, a person
who formed a business partnership
with the prostitute might not be
guilty of human trafficking but
may be guilty of deriving support
from the proceeds of prostitution.
Florida law permits victims of
human trafficking to petition a
court to expunge their criminal
record of criminal acts committed
while a victim of human trafficking.
Clearing a human trafficking
victim’s record helps reduce or
eliminate barriers to obtaining
housing, gainful employment,
education, and restoration of
certain civic rights. To qualify for
expungement, the offense must have
been committed as part of a human
trafficking scheme the person was
a victim of or it must have been
committed at the direction of
an operator of the scheme. The
expungement law applies to arrests,
charges, or convictions if a person
was a victim of trafficking when
the crimes occurred. The law does
not limit the number of arrests or
convictions that may be expunged.
Any request for expungement of a
criminal history
record may be
denied at the
discretion of
the court.
Author -
Timothy C.
Martin – Martin
Law Office, P.A.
Join the Diversity Committee through your Member Profile on hillsbar.com.
#
6 >= ? / ? - ) * < ? : 5 ; 2
+??.38>?7>0=<1