by Erin Albright , Esq .
THE CHILDREN ’ S CORNER Trafficked Youth — A Primer for Attorneys in Vermont
• In 2007 , Dennis Paris was sentenced to 32 years in jail for running a trafficking ring across New England . One of Paris ’ victims was a 16 year old from Vermont . 1
• In 2001 , a 16-year old runaway from Vermont was murdered in NYC , thought to have been trafficked . 2
These cases point to the existence of human trafficking in Vermont . Human trafficking is a newer term for the age-old issue of compelling another person to engage in labor or services against their will through force , fraud or coercion . Human trafficking impacts all communities , and the victims can be anyone – adults , minors , citizens and noncitizens , and anyone across the gender spectrum . Populations that experience higher rates of marginalization and vulnerability are particularly at risk for exploitation and trafficking . Youth are especially vulnerable , and Vermont is not immune .
Attorneys play an important role in the response to trafficking – from representing victims to informing policy changes . This article provides attorneys with a basic overview of the laws related to human trafficking , the risks for youth , and two areas for further exploration on the subject .
THE LAW : BACKGROUND
Compelled labor is not a new concept , yet over the past two decades it has received renewed attention . Reframed as human trafficking , a set of new laws and efforts have launched , reflecting a growing understanding of modern manifestations of compelled labor . A fundamental driver in all of these laws , reflected in their provisions , is an understanding that the methods of compulsion have evolved from chains and formal legal ownership , to more subtle forms of control through psychological coercion and other invisible tactics . The Trafficking Victims Protection Act , passed by Congress in 2000 , 3 was the first U . S . law enacted to address and include the more subtle forms of compulsion . Since that landmark law , all 50 states have enacted their own statutes to respond to the crime .
THE LAW : VERMONT
In Vermont , Act 55 was passed in 2011 following recommendations from a 2010 legislatively created task force and advisory board study of the issue . 4 The law criminalizes human trafficking in all forms , and is best understood through categories based on the type of work and the age of the victim . 5
First , with respect to sex trafficking of adults , 13 V . S . A . § 2652 ( a )( 2 ) - ( 3 ) makes it a felony to compel , recruit , entice , harbor , transport , provide , or obtain a person through force , fraud , or coercion for the purpose of having the person engage in a commercial sex act . Section 2652 ( a ) ( 4 ) extends the criminal act to anyone that “ benefit [ s ] financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture , knowing that force , fraud , or coercion was or will be used to compel any person to engage in a commercial sex act as part of the venture .” A « Commercial sex act » means any sexual act , sexual conduct , or sexually explicit performance on account of which anything of value is promised to , given to , or received by any person . 6
The second category covers other forms of labor , and applies to both persons under the age of 18 and over the age of 18 . Using the term “ labor servitude ” – defined as , “ labor or services performed or provided by a person which are induced or maintained through force , fraud , or coercion ,” 7 13 V . S . A . § 2652 ( a )( 5 ) - ( 6 ) make it a felony
36 THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • FALL 2017 to subject , recruit , entice , harbor , transport , provide , or obtain a person for the purpose of subjecting the person to labor servitude . Like the provisions for commercial sex , labor servitude also extends to anyone that benefits financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture , knowing that a person will be subject to labor servitude as part of the venture . 8
THE LAW : SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SEX TRAFFICKED YOUTH
The final category is codified in 13 V . S . A . § 2652 ( a )( 1 ) and states that “ No person shall knowingly : recruit , entice , harbor , transport , provide , or obtain by any means a person under the age of 18 for the purpose of having the person engage in a commercial sex act .” 9 This is a felony , and colloquially referred to as “ sex trafficking of minors .” The key difference between this and the other two categories is the absence of force , fraud , or coercion , or other means of compulsion . Thus , any youth under the age of 18 engaged in commercial sex is a victim of trafficking . 10
Beyond the elements of the crime , youth under 18 involved in commercial sex receive additional special considerations under Vermont law . First , youth under 18 cannot be found in violation of , or be the subject of , a delinquency petition for lewdness , prostitution or obscenity , and they are granted immunity from prosecution for prostitution . 11 For prosecutions and / or delinquency petitions outside of those specified areas , the law allows for an affirmative defense that he or she committed the offense as a result of force , fraud , or coercion by a sex trafficker . 12
Finally , through a mandate in the federal Strengthening Families and Preventing Sex Trafficking Act , 13 Vermont has taken steps to create policies and procedures for better identifying and reporting potential cases of sex trafficking of youth under the age of 18 .
UNDERSTANDING CHILD TRAFFICKING
Both sex and labor trafficking of youth under 18 are felonies in Vermont . The key difference is that labor trafficking still requires a showing of force , fraud , or coercion , and victims of labor trafficking under the age of 18 are not among those that currently receive the benefits described above . Nonetheless , this special atten-
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