2009 -- S 605 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED

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LC01530/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: Senators Perry, Crowley, Gallo, Sosnowski, and Lanzi

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2009

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 11-67-1, 11-67-2, and 11-67-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-

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67 entitled "Trafficking of Persons and Involuntary Servitude" are hereby amended to read as

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follows:

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     11-67-1. Definitions. -- As used herein:

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      (1) "Intimidation" means an intentional written, verbal or physical act or threat of a

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physical act that, under the totality of circumstances a reasonable person should know will have

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the effect of: physically harming, or damaging a person's property, placing a person in reasonable

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fear of harm to his or her person or to his or her family, or placing a person in reasonable fear of

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damage to his or her property.

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      (2) "Commercial sexual activity" means any sex act which is performed or promised in

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return for payment of money.

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     (3) "Forced labor" means labor performed or provided by another person that is obtained

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or maintained through:

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      (i) Any scheme, plan, or pattern intending to cause or threatening to cause physical harm

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to any person;

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      (ii) An actor's physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another person;

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      (iii) An actor's abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;

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      (iv) An actor's knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing

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without a person's consent any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or

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

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      (v) An actor's blackmail; or

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      (vi) An actor's intimidation.

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      (4) "Labor" means work of economic or financial value.

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      (5) "Maintain" means, in relation to labor, to secure continued performance thereof,

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regardless of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to perform such type of labor.

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      (6) "Obtain" means in relation to labor, to secure continued performance thereof.

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      (7) "Sex act" means any sexual contact or sexual penetration of a person, as defined in

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section 11-37-1.

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      (8) "Victim" means a person subject to the practices set forth in section 11-67-2 or 11-

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67-3.

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     (9) “Mentally disabled” means a person who has a mental impairment which renders that

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person incapable of appraising the nature of the act.

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     (10) “Mentally incapacitated” means a person who is rendered temporarily incapable of

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appraising or controlling his or her conduct due to the influence of a narcotic, anesthetic, or other

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substance administered to that person without his or her consent, or who is mentally unable to

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communicate unwillingness to engage in the act.

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     (11) “Physically helpless” means a person who is unconscious, asleep, or for any other

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reason is physically unable to communicate unwillingness to engage in the act.

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     (12) “Minor” means a person who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.

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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

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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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     11-67-3. Trafficking of persons for forced labor or commercial sexual activity. --

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Whoever knowingly:

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      (a) Recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, maintains or obtains by any means, or

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attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport provide, maintain or obtain by any means, another

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person, intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to forced labor in order to commit

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a commercial sexual activity; or

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      (b) Benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from knowing participation in

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a venture which has engaged in an act described in violation of section 11-67-2, or 11-67-3., is

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     (c) Subjects or attempts to subject a person who is mentally incapacitated, mentally

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disabled or physically helpless to commit commercial sexual activity shall be guilty of a felony

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and subject to not more than twenty (20) years imprisonment or a fine of not more than twenty

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thousand dollars ($20,000), or both; provided, however, that this subsection section shall not

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apply to a "victim" as defined in this chapter.

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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 sections:

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     11-67-3.1. Trafficking of minors for commercial sexual activity. – (a) Whoever

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knowingly:

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     (1) Recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, maintains or obtains by any means, or

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attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, maintain or obtain by any means, a minor,

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intending or knowing that the minor will be subjected to commit a commercial sexual activity;

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     (2) Benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value derived from participation in a

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venture which includes an act described in sections 11-67-2 or 11-67-3 wherein the victim is a

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minor shall be 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; provided, however, that this section shall

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not apply to a "victim" as defined in this chapter.

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     (b) In a prosecution under this section in which the defendant had a reasonable

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opportunity to observe the minor so recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided,

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maintained or obtained, the government need not prove that the defendant knew that the victim

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was a minor.

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     (c) A person is guilty of violating this section if he or she is over the age of twenty-one

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(21) and knowingly purchases and engages in commercial sexual activity as defined in this

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section.

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     11-67-6. Training. – (a) The curriculum for new law enforcement officers presented at

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the Providence police academy, the state policy academy, and the municipal police academy shall

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include at least eight (8) hours of training on human trafficking and involuntary servitude. That

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training shall stress the enforcement of criminal law in human trafficking cases and shall include:

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     (1) The nature, extent, and consequences of human trafficking and involuntary servitude;

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     (2) Legal rights of and remedies available to victims of human trafficking and

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involuntary servitude;

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     (3) Services and facilities available to victims of human trafficking and involuntary

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servitude;

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     (4) Legal duties imposed on police officers to make arrests under this chapter and to offer

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protection and assistance; and

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     (5) Techniques for handling incidents of human trafficking and involuntary servitude that

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minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and promote the safety of the victim.

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     (b) Each law enforcement agency shall provide four (4) hours of in-service training to its

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officers on issues of human trafficking and involuntary servitude. This training shall stress the

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enforcement of criminal law in human trafficking cases and shall include:

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     (1) The nature, extent, and consequences of human trafficking and involuntary servitude;

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     (2) Legal rights of and remedies available to victims of human trafficking and

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involuntary servitude;

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     (3) Services and facilities available to victims of human trafficking and involuntary

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servitude;

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     (4) Legal duties imposed on police officers to make arrests under this chapter and to offer

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protection and assistance; and

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     (5) Techniques for handling incidents of human trafficking and involuntary servitude that

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minimize the likelihood of injury to the officer and promote the safety of the victim.

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     11-67-7. Oversight committee created – Composition – Duties and responsibilities. –

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(a) There is hereby created a trafficking of persons oversight committee which shall consist of

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sixteen (16) members to be appointed as follows: the attorney general or his or her designee who

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shall act as chairperson; the superintendent of the state police or his or her designee; the president

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of the Rhode Island chiefs of police or his or her designee; the presiding justice of the superior

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court or his or her designee; the chief justice of the district court or his or her designee; the public

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defender or his or her designee; the director of the department of children, youth and family or his

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or her designee; the director of the international institute or his or her designee; the director of

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Day One or his or her designee; the director of the Rhode Island commission on women or his or

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her designee; the director of the Rhode Island coalition against human trafficking or his or her

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designee; the director of direct action for rights and equality (D.A.R.E.) or his or her designee; the

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director of the urban league of Rhode Island or his or her designee; the director of the national

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association of social workers, Rhode Island chapter, or his or her designee; the president of the

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Rhode Island national organization for women or his or her designee; and a qualified elector of

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this state appointed by the governor (preferably a former victim of trafficking).

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     (b) Each member of the committee may appoint a permanent designee to attend

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committee meetings in his or her absence. A quorum of the committee shall consist of a majority

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of its members.

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     (c) The committee shall meet no fewer than four (4) times per year at the call of the

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chairperson or upon petition of a majority of the committee members.

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     (d) The committee may invite other non-government organizations that have vested

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interest or special expertise in this area to participate in its deliberations. Such invitations shall be

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made by a majority vote of the committee.

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     (e) The committee shall have the duties and responsibilities to:

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     (i) Develop and promulgate guidelines for a model policy for police response to

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trafficking-in-persons investigations;

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     (ii) Develop and promulgate a uniform trafficking-in-persons report for use by the law

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enforcement community;

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     (iii) Develop and promulgate an information packet on the rights of and the services

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available to victims of trafficking-in-persons, which materials shall be made available in the

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following languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Cambodian, Hmong,

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Laotian, Vietnamese and French;

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     (iv) Develop and promulgate an assessment protocol for evaluating the effectiveness of

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the enforcement of this chapter, the prosecution of cases under this chapter, and the provision of

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services to victims of trafficking-in-persons cases under this chapter;

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     (v) Develop and promulgate an assessment protocol for identifying victims of trafficking-

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in-persons which shall include, but not be limited to:

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     (A) Fraud and/or financial coercion assessments;

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     (B) Physical abuse assessments;

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     (C) Freedom of movement assessments;

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     (D) Psychological coercion assessments;

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     (E) Behavior indicators assessments;

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     (F) Substance addiction assessments; and

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     (G) Environmental indicators assessments.

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     (vi) No information obtained through the assessment protocol developed in accordance

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with subsection (v) may be used in any legal or other proceeding against any victim or purported

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victim so questioned unless ordered by a court following an in camera review of the records. Any

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disclosure ordered by a court shall be subject to a protective order forbidding further disclosure to

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anyone not a party to the relevant court action.

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     (vii) Evaluate the effectiveness of the enforcement of this chapter, the prosecution of

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cases under this chapter, and the provision of services to victim of trafficking-in-persons cases

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under this chapter and submit an annual report setting forth its findings and recommendations, if

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any, to the governor, to the president of the senate and to the speaker of the house of

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representatives. Said report shall include the number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions

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under this chapter and the number and lengths of prison sentences and the number and amounts of

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fines imposed under this chapter.

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     (f) Guidelines, reports and protocols required by this section shall be promulgated in

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accordance with the rulemaking provisions of chapter 35 of title 42 of the general laws, not later

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than one year after the effective date of this act.

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     (g) All guidelines, reports and protocols promulgated pursuant to this section shall be

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implemented by all law enforcement agencies in this state not later than six (6) months after the

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promulgation thereof. Law enforcement officials shall thereafter use and follow such guidelines,

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reports and protocols in all situations involving trafficking-in-persons, prostitution, runaways

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and/or sexual assault.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC01530/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 amend the provisions regarding human trafficking by expanding the

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definitions and actions which constitute a felony. The act would also increase the penalties for

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forced labor and involuntary commercial sex acts.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC01530/SUB A/2

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2009 -- S 605 H.

SUBSTITUTE A

A N A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS AND INVOLUNTARY

SERVITUDE

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LC01530/SUB A/2

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