2009 -- H 5661 SUBSTITUTE A

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LC01936/SUB A/2

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2009

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A N A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS AND

INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

     Introduced By: Representatives Giannini, DaSilva, Corvese, Petrarca, and Gablinske

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2009

     Referred To: House Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 11-67-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-67 entitled "Trafficking

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of Persons and Involuntary Servitude" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     11-67-2. Involuntary servitude. -- (a) Whoever knowingly subjects, attempts to subject,

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or engages in a conspiracy to subject another person to forced labor in order to commit a or

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commercial sexual activity either by:

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      (1) Causing or threatening to cause physical harm to any person;

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      (2) Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another person;

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      (3) Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;

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      (4) Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing without that

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person's consent any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other

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actual or purported government identification document, of another person; or

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      (5) By using intimidation; shall be guilty of a felony and subject to not more than twenty

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(20) years imprisonment or a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or both.

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      (b) In cases involving a minor between the ages of seventeen (17) and eighteen (18)

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years, the defendant is guilty of a felony, and subject to not more than thirty (30) years

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imprisonment, or a fine of not more than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), or both;

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      (c) In cases in which the minor had not attained the age of seventeen (17) years,

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defendant is guilty of a felony, and subject to not more than forty (40) years imprisonment, or a

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fine of up to forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or both.

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 11-67 of the General Laws entitled "Trafficking of Persons and

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Involuntary Servitude" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     11-67-6. Sex trafficking of a minor. -- (a) Definitions. As used in this section:

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     (1) "Commercial sex act" means any sex act or sexually explicit performance on account

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of which anything of value is given, promised to, or received, directly or indirectly, by any

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person.

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     (2) "Minor" refers to any natural person under eighteen (18) years of age.

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     (3) "Person" includes an individual, corporation, partnership, association, a government

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body, a municipal corporation, or any other legal entity.

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     (4) "Sex act" means any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of another person

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for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of any person. It includes touching of the person as

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well as touching by the person, whether directly or through clothing.

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     (5) "Sexually-explicit performance" means an act or show, intended to arouse, satisfy the

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sexual desires of, or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons or viewers, whether public or

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private, live, photographed, recorded, or videotaped.

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     (b) Any person who:

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     (1) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, persuades, obtains, or

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maintains, or so attempts, any minor for the purposes of commercial sex acts; or

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     (2) Sells or purchases a minor for the purposes of commercial sex acts; or

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     (3) Benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture

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which has engaged in an act described in subdivision (1) or (2); or

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     (4) Obstructs, attempts to obstruct, or in any way interferes with or prevents the

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enforcement of this section; shall be subject to the penalties under this section.

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     (c) Every person who shall commit sex trafficking of a minor, when the victim is under

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the age of fourteen (14) years, is guilty of a felony and shall be subject to not more than forty (40)

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years imprisonment or a fine of not more than forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or both.

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     (d) Every person who shall commit sex trafficking of a minor, when the victim is

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between the ages of fourteen (14) and eighteen (18) years, is guilty of a felony and shall be

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subject to not more than thirty (30) years imprisonment or a fine of not more than thirty thousand

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dollars ($30,000), or both.

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     (e) In a prosecution under this section, the government need not prove that the defendant

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knew the victims age.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01936/SUB A/2

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS AND

INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

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     This act would mandate a fine of no less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) and

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imprisonment for up to forty (40) years for anyone found guilty of sex trafficking of a minor.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01936/SUB A/2

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