2013 Texas Legislature Human Trafficking Bill
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Officials estimate that approximately 100,000 American
children are exploited in the commercial sex industry annually. Due in part to
geographic relation to other nations as well as numerous interstate systems,
Texas has become a central location for trafficking activity. According to
Texas Attorney General Greg “traffickers have turned Texas into a hub for
international and domestic forced labor and prostitution rings.” The U.S.
Department for Health and Human Services claims that 25% of human trafficking
victims in the United States are in Texas, and labeled the I-10 corridor
between Houston and El Paso the main trafficking route in the U.S. Because
human trafficking is a new consideration in the justice system, laws need to be
reevaluated to include this prevalent issue.
Senate Bill No. 1312 applies to defendants who are charged
with a felony due to sexual offense of any individual under the age of 14. The
legislation specifically includes the crime of “trafficking of persons,” an
addition that is crucial to the proper legal handling of trafficking cases.
This bill includes cases in which the defendant “trafficked the victim with the
intent or knowledge that the victim would engage in sexual conduct” and those
who “benefited from participating in a venture that involved a trafficked
victim engaging in sexual conduct.” As a result of this bill, then, both
traffickers and the people who pay for sexual interactions with victims of
trafficking can be punished accordingly. The bill also creates a new
requirement that those found guilty of trafficking offer restitution to
victims.
You can read the full text of the bill here:
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