Human Trafficking Laws by State (2026)
How each state handles human trafficking and the penalties, from each state's code.
| State | Human trafficking |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Human trafficking in the first degree — knowingly subjecting a person to labor or sexual servitude, recruiting or holding a minor for sexual servitude, or paying for sexual conduct with a minor (or someone believed to be a minor) — is a Class A felony (10 years to life or 99 years); if the defendant is 19 or older and the victim is a minor, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment. Human trafficking in the second degree — knowingly profiting from a servitude venture, recruiting or transporting a person for labor or sexual servitude, or advertising access to someone's servitude — is a Class B felony (2 to 20 years). Mistake about a minor's age, the victim's consent, and the victim's sexual history are not defenses. Ala. Code 1975 §§ 13A-6-152, 13A-6-153, 13A-6-154; Ala. Code 1975 §§ 13A-5-6, 13A-5-7, 13A-5-11, 13A-5-12 |
| Alaska | Human trafficking in the first degree, compelling or inducing someone to engage in sexual conduct, adult entertainment or labor by force, threat of force or deception, is a class A felony (up to 20 years). Second-degree human trafficking, inducing someone into adult entertainment or labor by threats such as exposing secrets, destroying identity or immigration documents, threatening deportation or debt collection, withholding necessities or drugs, or deception, is a class B felony (up to 10 years). Sex trafficking in the first degree (prostitution by force, of a person in one's custody, or of a person under 20) is a class A felony, and an unclassified felony when the person induced is under 20; second-degree sex trafficking (running a prostitution enterprise, procuring patrons, or inducing commercial sex by coercion) is a class B felony, and third-degree is a class C felony. AS 11.41.360, 11.41.365; AS 11.66.110, 11.66.120, 11.66.130; AS 12.55.125 |
| Arizona | Sex trafficking of an adult (by force, fraud or coercion) and trafficking any person for forced labor or services are class 2 felonies, with no probation, suspended sentence or early release until the sentence is served. Child sex trafficking — causing, recruiting or profiting from a minor's prostitution, or an adult engaging in prostitution with a minor — is a class 2 felony: if the minor is under 15 it is sentenced under the dangerous-crimes-against-children law and runs consecutively; if the minor is 15 to 17, the first-offense range is 13 to 27 years (20 presumptive) for traffickers, rising to natural life for a repeat offense. An adult who buys sex from a 15- to 17-year-old with knowledge of the age faces 7 to 21 years; without knowledge it is a class 5 felony (class 2 with a prior conviction). A.R.S. §§ 13-1307, 13-1308, 13-3212 |
| Arkansas | Trafficking of persons — knowingly recruiting, transporting or holding someone for involuntary servitude, subjecting someone to it, profiting from such a venture, recruiting or transporting a minor for commercial sexual activity, or coercing a pregnant woman to place her child for adoption — is a Class A felony (6 to 30 years) and a Class Y felony (10 to 40 years or life) if any victim was a minor. Not knowing the victim's age is no defense. Paying for sex with a trafficking victim carries a mandatory fine of $5,000 to $15,000. Ark. Code § 5-18-103; Ark. Code §§ 5-4-201, 5-4-401 |
| California | Depriving or violating someone's personal liberty to obtain forced labor or services is human trafficking, punished by 5, 8 or 12 years in state prison and a fine up to $500,000. Doing so to commit sex offenses such as pimping, pandering, child pornography or extortion carries 8, 14 or 20 years and up to $500,000. Causing, inducing or persuading a minor to engage in a commercial sex act carries 5, 8 or 12 years, or 15 years to life when force, fear, fraud, coercion, violence or threats are involved; a minor's consent and mistake about the minor's age are not defenses. Cal. Penal Code 236.1(a)-(f) |
| Colorado | Human trafficking for involuntary servitude (labor) and human trafficking for sexual servitude — knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring or obtaining a person to coerce them into labor or commercial sexual activity — are class 3 felonies (4 to 12 years). Trafficking a minor for either purpose is a class 2 felony (8 to 24 years); for sexual servitude of a minor the court must impose at least the minimum of the class 2 range in prison, and the minor's consent or a mistake about age is no defense. A trafficking victim who was forced to take part has an affirmative defense. C.R.S. §§ 18-3-503, 18-3-504; C.R.S. §§ 18-1.3-401, 18-1.3-501, 18-1.3-503 |
| Connecticut | Trafficking in persons covers both sex and labor trafficking: using force, threats, fraud or coercion to make someone provide sexual contact or labor or services, making a person under 18 engage in commercial sexual contact, or otherwise recruiting, harboring, transporting or providing a person for sex in exchange for anything of value. It is a Class A felony, punishable by 10 to 25 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine. A defendant under 18 has an affirmative defense if their participation resulted from being trafficked themselves. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-192a; Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-35a, 53a-36, 53a-41, 53a-42 |
| Delaware | Trafficking an individual, forced labor, and sexual servitude (including recruiting or facilitating a minor for commercial sex, or using coercion or deception to compel an adult into commercial sex) are each Class C felonies (up to 15 years), or Class B felonies (2 to 25 years) if the victim is a minor; a minor's consent or a mistaken belief about age is no defense. Each is raised one grade when aggravating facts are present, such as recruiting from a shelter or using force, abduction or serious harm. Patronizing a victim of sexual servitude is a Class D felony (Class C if the victim is a minor), and trafficking a person to remove body parts is a Class A felony. Victims may also sue for damages and attorneys' fees within 5 years. 11 Del. C. § 787; 11 Del. C. §§ 4205, 4206 |
| District of Columbia | D.C. criminalizes forced labor, trafficking in labor or commercial sex acts, and sex trafficking of children. Each of these offenses carries up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000; if the victim is held or provides services for more than 180 days, the maximum fine and prison term rise to one and a half times (up to 30 years). Misusing documents in furtherance of trafficking carries up to 5 years, benefiting financially from trafficking is punished like the underlying offense, and attempts carry half the maximum. D.C. Code §§ 22-1832 to 22-1837, 22-3571.01 |
| Florida | Human trafficking (knowingly, or in reckless disregard, recruiting, transporting or obtaining a person, or benefiting from a trafficking venture) for labor using coercion, or for labor of a child, or for commercial sex with an adult using coercion, is a first-degree felony (up to 30 years). Trafficking a child, or a mentally incapacitated person, for commercial sexual activity is a life felony, and a parent or guardian who sells a child knowing the child will be trafficked also commits a life felony. An adult who organizes or directs sex trafficking of a child under 12 or a mentally incapacitated person commits a capital felony. Causing great bodily harm raises the grade one level. Fla. Stat. § 787.06; Fla. Stat. §§ 775.082, 775.083 |
| Georgia | Trafficking a person for labor servitude or sexual servitude (including recruiting, harboring, transporting, soliciting, patronizing or profiting from a person in sexual servitude) is a felony with 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. If the victim is under 18 or has a developmental disability, the sentence is 25 to 50 years or life and up to $100,000; ignorance of the victim's age and the victim's consent are not defenses. Someone with a prior sexual felony conviction who commits sexual servitude faces life in prison (or a split sentence with lifetime probation). O.C.G.A. § 16-5-46 |
| Hawaii | Sex trafficking (advancing or profiting from prostitution compelled by force, threat, fraud, coercion or intimidation, or from the prostitution of anyone under 18) is a Class A felony (indeterminate 20 years and $50,000); the offender is strictly liable as to the victim's age. Labor trafficking in the first degree (obtaining a person's labor by force, fraud, debt bondage, threats, withholding ID documents or similar means) is also a Class A felony. Labor trafficking in the second degree (knowingly aiding or benefiting from a labor trafficking venture) is a Class B felony, or Class A if it involves kidnapping, sexual assault, attempted murder or a death, and any business license used must be revoked. Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 712-1202, 707-781, 707-782; Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 706-640, 706-659, 706-660, 706-663 |
| Idaho | Human sex trafficking (recruiting, transporting or holding a person and using force, fraud or coercion to cause commercial sex or a sexually explicit performance) is a felony punishable by five to 25 years and/or a fine of $15,000 to $80,000. Sex trafficking of a child (no force, fraud or coercion required) carries ten to 30 years and/or $20,000 to $100,000. Labor trafficking carries three to 25 years and/or $10,000 to $80,000, and labor trafficking of a child five to 25 years and/or $15,000 to $80,000. Courts must order restitution and forfeiture of property used in or gained from the crime. Idaho Code §§ 18-8603, 18-8607 to 18-8611 |
| Illinois | Illinois's trafficking law covers involuntary servitude (forced labor or services), involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, and trafficking in persons. Involuntary servitude ranges from a Class X felony (6 to 30 years) when obtained by causing or threatening physical harm, down to Class 1 through Class 4 felonies for restraint, abuse of legal process, taking identity documents, or intimidation and financial control. Recruiting or obtaining a minor for commercial sex is a Class X felony when the minor is under 17 or force or threats are used, and a Class 1 felony when the minor is 17 and there is no force or threat. Trafficking in persons (recruiting, transporting or harboring someone for involuntary servitude, or knowingly profiting from such a venture) is a Class 1 felony (4 to 15 years); any of these offenses involving kidnapping, aggravated criminal sexual assault or attempted murder is a Class X felony, and restitution is mandatory. 720 ILCS 5/10-9(b)-(e), (g); 730 ILCS 5/5-4.5-25, -30 |
| Indiana | Using force, threats, coercion or fraud to recruit, harbor, obtain or transport someone for labor or services (promotion of human labor trafficking), or to cause someone to marry, engage in prostitution or participate in sexual conduct (promotion of human sexual trafficking), is a Level 4 felony (2 to 12 years). Recruiting, enticing, harboring or transporting a child under 18 for prostitution or sexual performance, or a child under 16 for sexual conduct, is a Level 3 felony (3 to 16 years), and the child's consent is no defense. An adult who sells or transfers custody of a child for prostitution or sexual conduct commits child sexual trafficking, a Level 2 felony (10 to 30 years); paying or offering a benefit to obtain the act a trafficking victim was trafficked for is a Level 4 felony. IC 35-42-3.5-1, -1.1, -1.2, -1.3, -1.4; IC 35-50-2-4.5, -5, -5.5 |
| Iowa | Knowingly engaging in human trafficking (labor or sex) is a class B felony (up to 25 years), including trafficking by restraint, threats to abuse legal process, confiscating ID documents, soliciting or benefiting from the victim's services, or profiting from participation. It is a class A felony (life in prison) when the victim is under 18, and whenever it involves causing or threatening serious physical injury. Providing forged professional licenses or ID to force labor is a class D felony (class B if the victim is a minor). Mistake about the victim's age is no defense, and deferred judgments are not available. Iowa Code § 710A.2; class penalties from Iowa Code §§ 902.1, 902.9, 903.1 (data/criminal/iowa.json) |
| Kansas | Human trafficking - recruiting, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person for labor through force, fraud or coercion, benefiting from such a venture, coercing labor by threats, restraint, or confiscating ID documents, or holding someone in debt peonage - is a severity level 2 person felony with a fine of at least $2,500. Aggravated human trafficking (involving kidnapping, done for sexual gratification, resulting in death, or trafficking or hiring a child for forced labor or sex) is a severity level 1 person felony, and it is an off-grid person felony when an adult offender's victim is under 14. K.S.A. 21-5426 |
| Kentucky | Human trafficking - intentionally subjecting someone to forced labor or services, or to commercial sex through force, fraud or coercion (no force needed if the victim is under 18) - is a Class B felony (10-20 years), or a Class A felony (20-50 years or life) if the victim is a minor. Promoting human trafficking - profiting from it, or recruiting, transporting, advertising, harboring or soliciting a person knowing they will be trafficked - is a Class C felony (5-10 years), or Class B if a victim is under 18. KRS 529.100, 529.110 |
| Louisiana | Human trafficking is knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring or obtaining a person through fraud, force or coercion to provide labor or services, or obtaining a person under 21 for commercial sexual activity (force not required). The base penalty is a fine up to $10,000 and up to 10 years at hard labor; when the services include commercial sexual activity it is a fine up to $15,000 and up to 20 years at hard labor; trafficking a person 18 to 20 for sex carries 15 to 50 years at hard labor; trafficking that involves a person under 18 carries 5 to 25 years at hard labor, and trafficking a person under 18 for sex carries life without parole. The separate crime of trafficking of children for sexual purposes carries life imprisonment at hard labor without parole, probation or suspension of sentence for the main offenses. La. R.S. 14:46.2(A), (B); R.S. 14:46.3(D) |
| Maine | Maine charges sex trafficking as promoting prostitution: sex trafficking is a Class D crime (Class C with two or more prior trafficking convictions), and aggravated sex trafficking - compelling a person into prostitution (by drugs, debt bondage, confiscating ID documents, threats, etc.), or promoting prostitution of a 15-, 16- or 17-year-old or a person with a mental disability - is a Class B crime (up to 10 years); promoting prostitution of a child 14 or younger is a Class A crime (up to 30 years). Labor trafficking is called criminal forced labor (compelling labor or services by withholding drugs or medication, exploiting impairment, threats to health, safety or immigration status, and similar means) and is a Class C crime (up to 5 years); aggravated criminal forced labor, when the victim is under 18, is a Class B crime. 17-A M.R.S. §§ 852, 853, 304, 305; § 1604(1) |
| Maryland | Sex trafficking - knowingly taking, placing, harboring or enticing a person for prostitution, or benefiting from it - is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 years and/or $5,000; it is a felony with up to 25 years and/or $15,000 when the victim is a minor or force, threat, coercion or fraud is used (not knowing the victim's age is no defense). Forced labor (labor trafficking) - obtaining a person's labor or services by force, fraud or coercion, or benefiting from it - is a felony with up to 25 years and/or $15,000, as is forced marriage. Md. Code, Crim. Law §§ 3-1102, 3-1202, 3-1103 |
| Massachusetts | Trafficking of persons for sexual servitude (recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person for commercial sexual activity, sexual performances or unlawful pornography, or benefiting from it) and trafficking of persons for forced services are each punished by 5 to 20 years in state prison and a fine up to $25,000, with a 5-year mandatory minimum and no probation or parole before then. When the victim is under 18, the penalty is life or any term of years, but not less than 5 years. A business entity that commits trafficking can be fined up to $1,000,000, and victims may sue in tort. G.L. c. 265, §§ 50, 51 |
| Michigan | Knowingly recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person for forced labor or services (and related trafficking offenses) is a felony punishable by up to 10 years and/or $10,000; up to 15 years and $15,000 if it causes bodily injury or involves commercial sexual activity; up to 20 years and $20,000 if it causes serious bodily injury; and life or any term of years and up to $50,000 if it involves kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, an attempted killing or a death. Trafficking a minor for commercial sexual activity or forced labor - regardless of whether the person knew the minor's age - is a felony with up to 20 years and/or $20,000. MCL 750.462b, 750.462e, 750.462f |
| Minnesota | Sex trafficking in the first degree (soliciting, promoting, profiting from or sex trafficking an individual under 18) carries up to 25 years and/or $50,000. Second-degree sex trafficking (the same acts with an adult) carries up to 20 years and/or $40,000. Either rises to up to 30 years and/or $60,000 with aggravating factors such as a prior trafficking offense, bodily harm to the victim, more than 180 days of debt bondage or forced labor, or multiple victims. Labor trafficking carries up to 15 years and/or $30,000; up to 20 years and/or $40,000 if the victim is under 18, it lasts an extended period or causes great bodily harm; and up to 25 years and/or $40,000 if the victim dies. Consent or age of the victim is not a defense to labor trafficking. Minn. Stat. §§ 609.322, subds. 1, 1a; 609.282 |
| Mississippi | Recruiting, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person knowing they will be subjected to forced labor or services (labor servitude), or knowingly buying such labor, carries 2 to 20 years and/or a fine of $10,000 to $100,000 when the victim is an adult, and 20 years to life and/or $20,000 to $100,000 when the victim is a minor. Subjecting, recruiting or obtaining a minor for commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance or sexual material (sexual servitude of a minor) carries 20 years to life and/or a fine of $50,000 to $500,000; the minor's consent or a belief the minor was an adult is no defense. A business involved can be fined up to $1,000,000. Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-54.1 |
| Missouri | Trafficking a person for slavery, involuntary servitude, peonage or forced labor, and abusing a person through forced labor, are felonies with 5 to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000; if death results or the crime includes kidnapping, serious sexual abuse or an attempt to kill, the range rises (five years to life for trafficking, ten years to life for forced labor). Sex trafficking of an adult is 5 to 20 years and up to $250,000, or ten years to life if done by force, abduction or coercion. Sex trafficking of a child under 18 (second degree) carries 20 years to life, life without parole for 25 years if by force, and life if committed by a parent or guardian; for a child under 14 (first degree) it is life without parole until 30 years are served. Believing the child was older is not a defense. RSMo §§ 566.203, 566.206, 566.209, 566.210, 566.211 |
| Montana | Sex trafficking (running or promoting prostitution, or recruiting, transporting or harboring a person knowing they will be prostituted, or profiting from it) carries 2 to 20 years and/or a $400,000 fine; aggravated sex trafficking (using fraud, coercion or deception on an adult, or recruiting from a shelter) carries 5 to 40 years. Labor trafficking (using coercion to force labor or services) carries up to 15 years, or 4 to 50 years if the victim is under 18. Child sex trafficking carries 100 years in prison with the first 25 years not suspendable and no parole, plus a $400,000 fine and lifetime supervision; a child's consent or belief that the child was an adult is no defense. Patronizing a sex trafficking victim carries up to 15 years, or 100 years if the victim was a child. MCA 45-5-702, 45-5-703, 45-5-705, 45-5-706, 45-5-711 |
| Nebraska | Labor trafficking or sex trafficking of an adult is a Class II felony (1 to 50 years). Labor trafficking or sex trafficking of a minor is a Class IB felony (20 years to life). Knowingly benefiting from or participating in a trafficking venture is a Class IIA felony (up to 20 years). A minor's consent, or a belief that the minor consented or was an adult, is not a defense. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-831; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-105, § 28-106 |
| Nevada | Sex trafficking of an adult is a category B felony with 3 to 10 years and a fine up to $10,000. Sex trafficking of a child is a category A felony with life imprisonment and parole eligibility after 15 years if the child was under 14 (fine up to $20,000), after 10 years if 14 or 15, and after 5 years if 16 or 17 (fine up to $10,000), with no probation. Trafficking in persons for financial gain is a category B felony with 1 to 10 years, trafficking for illegal purposes 1 to 20 years, and involuntary servitude 5 to 20 years (7 to 20 with substantial bodily harm), each with a fine up to $50,000. NRS 201.300, 200.463, 200.467, 200.468 |
| New Hampshire | Trafficking in persons is knowingly compelling a person to perform labor or services, including commercial sex or sexually explicit performances, through serious harm, confinement, abuse of legal process, taking identity documents, threats, false promises, controlling access to drugs or debt bondage; it is a class A felony (up to 15 years). Maintaining or making available a person under 18 for commercial sex or a sexually explicit performance is a class A felony with 18 years to life, and knowledge of the minor's age and consent are not required or are no defense. Recruiting or transporting a person knowing they will likely be trafficked is a class A felony (18 years to life if the victim is a minor used for commercial sex). Paying for sexual contact with a person under 18 is a class B felony, or class A if the person is under 16. RSA 633:7; RSA 651:2, 625:9 |
| New Jersey | Human trafficking (holding, recruiting, transporting or obtaining a person for sex or for labor or services by force, threats, debt bondage, taking their documents, abuse of legal process, fraud, or supplying drugs, or any recruiting of a child under 18 for sex) is a crime of the first degree (10 to 20 years). For organizers who profit and for trafficking a child for sex, the sentence is 20 years without parole or 20 years to life with 20 years before parole. Every conviction carries a fine of at least $25,000 and restitution to the victim. Being a trafficking victim is an affirmative defense. N.J.S. 2C:13-8; N.J.S. 2C:43-3, 2C:43-6, 2C:43-8 |
| New Mexico | Human trafficking covers both labor and sex trafficking: knowingly recruiting, soliciting, enticing, transporting or obtaining a person, intending or knowing that force, fraud or coercion will be used to subject them to labor, services or commercial sexual activity; doing so with a person under 18 for commercial sexual activity; or knowingly benefiting from labor, services or commercial sex obtained by force, fraud or coercion. It is a third degree felony (basic sentence 3 years); a second degree felony (9 years) if the victim is under 16; and a first degree felony (18 years) if the victim is under 13. Restitution to the victim is required, and a victim may not be charged as an accessory. NMSA 1978, § 30-52-1; § 31-18-15(A) |
| New York | Sex trafficking (advancing or profiting from prostitution by drugging, deception, taking ID documents, debt bondage, or force or threats) is a class B felony (up to 25 years). Sex trafficking of a child (a person 21 or older advancing or profiting from the prostitution of someone under 18, with no defense of not knowing the age) is also a class B felony. Labor trafficking (compelling work by debt schemes, taking documents, or force or threats) is a class D felony (up to seven years), and aggravated labor trafficking (using drugs to impair the victim) is a class C felony (up to 15 years). N.Y. Penal Law §§ 230.34, 230.34-a, 135.35, 135.37; N.Y. Penal Law §§ 70.00, 70.15 |
| North Carolina | Human trafficking (knowingly or recklessly recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, patronizing, soliciting or obtaining a person for forced labor or sexual servitude, or causing a minor to be held in such service) is a Class C felony when the victim is an adult and a Class B2 felony when the victim is a minor. A minor's consent or a mistake about age is no defense, and each violation is a separate offense that does not merge with others. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-43.11 |
| North Dakota | Trafficking an individual (knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring, obtaining or enticing someone for forced labor or sexual servitude) is a class A felony when the victim is an adult and a class AA felony when the victim is a minor; forced labor and sexual servitude themselves are graded the same way, and a minor's consent or a belief that the minor was an adult is no defense. Mandatory minimums without parole apply: 20 years for a class AA felony, 10 years for a class A felony and five years for a class B felony. Recruiting a victim from a shelter adds up to five years, and businesses can be fined up to $1 million per offense. N.D.C.C. §§ 12.1-41-02 to 12.1-41-04, 12.1-41-07, 12.1-41-08, 12.1-41-08.1 |
| Ohio | Trafficking in persons (knowingly recruiting, luring, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining or maintaining a person knowing they will be subjected to involuntary servitude or compelled into sex for hire or sexual performances, or doing so with a minor under 18 or a person with a developmental disability) is a first-degree felony. For offenses on or after March 22, 2019, the court must impose an indefinite prison term with a minimum of 10 to 15 years. Compulsion can be shown by force, fear, fraud, or supplying or exploiting drugs or addiction. R.C. 2905.32 |
| Oklahoma | Human trafficking covers both labor and commercial sex: recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person by deception, force, fraud, threat or coercion for labor or a commercial sex act, any such conduct (including purchasing) involving a minor for commercial sex, or knowingly benefiting from a trafficking venture. It is a Class A2 felony punished by five (5) years to life in prison, a fine up to $100,000, or both; if the victim is under eighteen, fifteen (15) years to life and a fine up to $250,000. The person must serve 85% of the sentence before parole consideration, cannot get a suspended or deferred sentence or probation, and must pay restitution. 21 O.S. § 748 |
| Oregon | Trafficking in persons is knowingly recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a person knowing or recklessly disregarding that they will be subjected to involuntary servitude (forced labor), or that force, fraud or coercion will be used to make them engage in a commercial sex act, or that a person under 18 will be used in a commercial sex act; benefiting from such a venture is also trafficking. Trafficking for labor or benefiting is a Class B felony (up to 10 years); sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, or of a minor, is a Class A felony (up to 20 years). Forcing someone to work by threats of death, serious injury or restraint is first-degree involuntary servitude (Class B felony); by abuse of legal process, taking ID documents, debt bondage, threats of deportation or fraud it is second-degree (Class C felony). ORS 163.263, 163.264, 163.266 |
| Pennsylvania | Recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining or maintaining a person knowing or recklessly disregarding that the person will be subjected to sexual servitude, or knowingly benefiting from it, is a felony of the first degree (up to 20 years); if it subjects a minor to sexual servitude as part of a course of conduct, the court may impose up to 40 years. Trafficking for labor servitude, or benefiting from it, is a felony of the second degree (up to 10 years). Involuntary servitude (subjecting a person to labor or sexual servitude by force, threats, restraint, fraud, debt coercion, taking ID documents and similar means) is a felony of the first degree. Patronizing a victim of sexual servitude ranges from a felony of the third degree to the first degree, and trafficking convictions carry an added $5,000 fine per offense. 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3011, 3012, 3013, 3064 |
| Rhode Island | Trafficking an individual is knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring, obtaining, maintaining or enticing a person in furtherance of forced labor or sexual servitude. Trafficking, forced labor (using coercion to compel labor or services) and sexual servitude (making a minor available for commercial sex, or using coercion or deception to compel an adult) are each felonies punished by up to fifty (50) years and/or a $40,000 fine when the victim is a minor, and up to twenty (20) years and/or a $20,000 fine when the victim is an adult. Consent of a minor, or believing the minor was an adult, is not a defense to sexual servitude. Patronizing a victim of sexual servitude is a felony (up to 20 years for a minor victim, 10 years for an adult). R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-67.1-3, 11-67.1-4, 11-67.1-5, 11-67.1-6 |
| South Carolina | Trafficking in persons is recruiting, enticing, soliciting, isolating, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining a victim knowing the victim will be subjected to sex trafficking, forced labor or services, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; it also covers anyone who financially benefits from such a venture and anyone who pays for commercial sex with a known trafficking victim. It is a felony punished by up to fifteen (15) years for a first offense, thirty (30) years for a second and forty-five (45) years for a third or later offense. If the victim is under 18, the maximum is thirty (30) years (forty-five (45) years for a repeat offense). A business owner who uses the business to participate faces up to ten (10) more years per violation. S.C. Code § 16-3-2020 |
| South Dakota | Human trafficking is knowingly recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, purchasing, advertising, maintaining, soliciting or obtaining a person knowing that force, fraud or coercion will be used to make them engage in a commercial sex act, forced labor or involuntary servitude, or benefiting from such a venture; when the victim is under 18, force, fraud or coercion is not required. First-degree trafficking (sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, any victim under 18, or a victim's death) is a Class 2 felony with a mandatory minimum of fifteen (15) years (twenty (20) years for a repeat offense). Second-degree trafficking (forced labor or involuntary servitude) is a Class 3 felony with a mandatory minimum of five (5) years (ten (10) years for a repeat offense). A minor's or parent's consent and mistake as to age are not defenses. SDCL 22-49-1, 22-49-2, 22-49-3 |
| Tennessee | Trafficking for a commercial sex act (knowingly subjecting a person to, or benefiting from, a commercial sex act, or recruiting, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person for one) is a Class B felony (8 to 30 years), or a Class A felony (15 to 60 years) if the victim was 13 to 17; consent or mistake about age is no defense. Trafficking for forced labor or services is a Class C felony (3 to 15 years), or Class A if the victim was 13 to 17. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-308, 39-13-309; Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111 |
| Texas | Trafficking of persons (labor or sex) is generally a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years) and a first-degree felony (5 to 99 years or life) when it involves a child or disabled person in sex trafficking, causes serious injury or death, or involves a weapon or strangulation; a first-degree felony with a 25-year minimum applies when committed near schools, shelters and similar places. Continuous trafficking (two or more trafficking acts over 30 days or more) is a first-degree felony with a minimum of 25 years. Tex. Penal Code §§ 20A.02(b), (b-1), 20A.03(e); Tex. Penal Code §§ 12.21-12.35 |
| Utah | Human trafficking for labor is a second-degree felony if knowing (third degree if reckless). Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is a first-degree felony when it involves a commercial sex act done knowingly, and second or third degree for sexually explicit performances or reckless conduct. Trafficking a child (under 18) for labor or sex, done knowingly, is a first-degree felony with a prison term of 10 years to life (15 years to life if the child is under 14), and mistake about age is no defense. Aggravated human trafficking is a first-degree felony with 10 years to life. Utah Code §§ 76-5-308, 76-5-308.1, 76-5-308.5, 76-5-308.6, 76-5-310, 76-5-310.2; Utah Code §§ 76-3-203, 76-3-204, 76-3-205, 76-3-301 |
| Vermont | Human trafficking (recruiting, harboring, transporting or obtaining a person under 18 for commercial sex, using force, fraud or coercion to compel commercial sex, subjecting a person to labor servitude, or profiting from such a venture) carries up to life in prison and/or a fine up to $500,000. Aggravated human trafficking (a child victim, a prior trafficking conviction, serious bodily injury or death, or trafficking that involves sexual assault) carries 20 years to life and/or $100,000. Child victims of sex trafficking are not charged with prostitution. 13 V.S.A. §§ 2652, 2653 |
| Virginia | Commercial sex trafficking (recruiting or causing a person to engage in prostitution in order to profit from it) is a Class 5 felony (1 to 10 years); using force, intimidation or deception makes it a Class 4 felony (2 to 10 years), and an adult trafficking someone under 18 commits a Class 3 felony (5 to 20 years); each violation is a separate felony. Labor trafficking is treated as 'abduction': obtaining a person's labor or services, or taking or holding a person to subject them to forced labor, by force, intimidation (including taking passports or threatening deportation) or deception is a Class 5 felony, or a Class 2 felony (20 years to life) if the victim is a minor. Va. Code §§ 18.2-357.1, 18.2-47(B)-(C); Va. Code §§ 18.2-10, 18.2-11 |
| Washington | Trafficking in the second degree (recruiting, harboring, transporting, obtaining or buying a person knowing or recklessly disregarding that force, fraud or coercion will be used to make the person perform forced labor, involuntary servitude or a sexually explicit or commercial sex act, or causing a minor to engage in a sex act, or profiting from such a venture) is a class A felony. Trafficking in the first degree (the same conduct involving kidnapping, sexual motivation, organ harvesting, or a death) is also a class A felony (up to life and $50,000). When the victim is a minor, force, fraud or coercion need not be proven and consent is no defense. RCW 9A.40.100; RCW 9A.20.021 |
| West Virginia | Human trafficking (or aiding it) is a felony: 3 to 15 years if the victim is an adult and 5 to 20 years if a minor. Using a person in forced labor or debt bondage carries the same ranges. Sexual servitude, using coercion to compel an adult into commercial sex, is a felony with a determinate term of at least 25 years; making a minor available for commercial sex is at least 50 years, and the minor's consent or a belief that the minor was an adult is no defense. Human smuggling is 2-10 years (adult) or 3-15 years (minor). W. Va. Code §§ 61-14-2, 61-14-3, 61-14-4, 61-14-5 |
| Wisconsin | Knowingly trafficking a person (recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining) for labor, services or a commercial sex act, by means such as force, threats, debt bondage, fraud, confiscating ID documents or controlling access to drugs, is a Class C felony (up to 40 years and/or $100,000), as is knowingly benefiting from it. Receiving earnings of debt bondage or a commercial sex act is a Class E felony (up to 15 years). Trafficking a child for commercial sex acts, or benefiting from it, needs no proof of force and is a Class B felony (up to 60 years), or a Class A felony with life without extended supervision if there are 3 or more child victims. Victims may sue for damages, treble punitive damages and attorney fees. Wis. Stat. §§ 940.302, 948.051; Wis. Stat. §§ 939.50, 939.51 |
| Wyoming | First-degree human trafficking, intentionally or knowingly recruiting, transporting, harboring or obtaining someone for forced labor or sexual servitude, carries 5 to 50 years, or 25 to 50 years plus a fine of up to $10,000 if the victim is a minor. Second-degree trafficking (done recklessly) carries 2 to 20 years and/or $10,000. Forced labor or servitude is up to 15 years and/or $10,000; sexual servitude of an adult up to 3 years and/or $3,000; and sexual servitude of a minor up to 5 years and/or $5,000, where the minor's consent or a belief that the minor was an adult is no defense. An adult with a prior trafficking conviction involving a minor who traffics a minor again faces 25 years to life without parole. W.S. 6-2-702, 6-2-703, 6-2-704, 6-2-705, 6-2-706, 6-2-712 |
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.