Human Trafficking Laws in 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.

Missouri's rule on court-appointed lawyers: The state public defender system represents eligible indigent persons. Eligibility is determined by the state public defender (or a person working under the defender) based on the person's 'ability to make bond, his income and the number of persons dependent on him for support.' A person claiming indigency files an affidavit with the court containing the information the public defender commission requires; either party may ask the court where the case is pending to decide whether the public defender may represent the defendant. Knowingly making a false affidavit to obtain services is a class A misdemeanor. The section does not set an application fee. RSMo § 600.086

Lawyers set their own fees, and Missouri has rules on how they may charge. See hiring a criminal defense lawyer in Missouri for fee rules, how to check a lawyer's license and free help.

How release before trial works in Missouri: 'That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great' (Mo. Const. art. I, § 20). By statute, a person charged with a bailable offense may be released on personal recognizance unless the judge finds that release will not reasonably assure the person's appearance; the judge may then impose conditions such as supervised custody, travel or association limits, a bail bond or cash deposit, reporting, or house arrest with electronic monitoring (§ 544.455.1). The judge considers the nature of the offense, the weight of the evidence, family ties, employment, financial resources, character and mental condition, length of residence, criminal record, and record of court appearances (§ 544.455.2). Conditions are reviewed for a person still detained after 24 hours because the person cannot meet them. Mo. Const. art. I, § 20; RSMo § 544.455 What happens after an arrest.

Each state sets its own rules for sealing or expunging records. See Missouri expungement and record sealing rules.