[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″]Existing Laws — United States[/fusion_title]

In the United States some Federal legislation covers prostitution such as:

United States Code, Title 18, Section 2422

Coercion and Enticement

(a) Whoever knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, to engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

(b) Whoever, using the mail or any facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States knowingly persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any individual who has not attained the age of 18 years, to engage in prostitution or any sexual activity for which any person can be charge with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than 10 years or for life.

Federal Enticement Statute Case Samples:

1.  The Internet is a facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce. U.S. v. Kaye, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54281 (E.D. Val, Aug. 4, 2006).
2.  A conviction under 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) requires only that defendant had the intent to persuade or attempt to persuade minors to engage in illegal sexual activity and does not require proof of subsequent intent to perform sexual act after persuasion. U.S. v. Bailey, 228 F.3d 637 (2005)
3.  The statute 18 U.S.C. 2422(b) is commonly used as a tool in the Federal Government’s attempts to prevent sexual abuse of children using the Internet. The statute’s primary focus is on adults using the Internet to seek out and persuade minors to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity. The statute is often used in the context of sting operations that involve adults posing as minors in an Internet “chat session.” U.S. v. Kaye, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54281 (E.D. Val, Aug. 4, 2006).

In the US, however, states are left to decide for themselves what legal stance they will take on prostitution. Some states have laws similar to Canada, while others have legalized prostitution. The following Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 addresses the US Federal response to trafficking.

In October 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) (Public Law 106-386) was enacted. Prior to that, no comprehensive Federal law existed to protect victims of trafficking or to prosecute their traffickers.

Human trafficking is increasingly committed by organized, sophisticated criminal groups, and is the fastest growing source of profits for organized criminal enterprises worldwide. Profits from the trafficking industry contribute to the expansion of organized crime in the U.S. and worldwide.

TVPA Goals

• Prevent human trafficking overseas
• Protect victims and help them rebuild their lives in the US with Federal and state support
• Prosecute traffickers of persons under stiff Federal penalties
• Prevention, Protection and Prosecution

The law is comprehensive in addressing the various ways of combating trafficking, including prevention, protection and prosecution. The prevention measures include the authorization of educational and public awareness programs.

Protection and assistance for victims of trafficking under the law include making housing, educational, health care, job training and other Federally-funded social service programs available to assist victims in rebuilding their lives. The law also establishes the T visa, which allows victims of trafficking to become temporary residents of the US. The TVPA authorizes up to 5,000 victims of trafficking each year to receive permanent residence status after three years from issuance of their temporary visas. The T visa signifies a shift in the immigration law policy, which previously resulted in many victims being deported as illegal aliens. The law also makes victims of trafficking eligible for the Witness Protection Program.

The TVPA also created law enforcement tools to strengthen the prosecution and punishment of traffickers, making human trafficking a Federal crime with severe penalties.

For example, if a trafficking crime results in death or if the crime includes kidnapping, an attempted kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, attempted aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, the trafficker could be sentenced to life in prison. Traffickers who exploit children (under the age of 14) using force, fraud or coercion, for the purpose of sex trafficking (a commercial sex act) can be imprisoned for life. If the victim was a child between the age of 14 and 18 and the sex trafficking did not involve force, fraud or coercion, the trafficker could receive up to 20 years in prison.

Moreover, the law addresses the subtle means of coercion used by traffickers to bind their victims into servitude, including: psychological coercion, trickery, and the seizure of documents, activities which were difficult to prosecute under pre-existing involuntary servitude statutes and case law.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]