The Ohio House on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation that would
toughen the penalties for people convicted of human trafficking and
provide more protections and services to victims to shield them from
prosecution and aid their recovery from the traumatic experiences.
“It’s basically written with a victim-centered approach,” said State Rep. Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, sponsor of House Bill 262.
The
bill, which is expected to reach the Senate floor later this week,
creates a diversion program that upon completion erases criminal charges
facing young trafficking victims and allows adult victims to expunge
their criminal records if the crimes resulted from their enslavement.
The
bill increases trafficking to a first-degree felony that requires a
prison term of 10 to 15 years. It also requires that people who pay to
have sex with minors face felony charges, and convicted pimps and
traffickers must register as sex offenders.
The legislation allows
victims to sue traffickers in civil court, and it permits assets
belonging to traffickers that are seized by law enforcement to be used
to pay for services needed by victims.
“It has three prongs to it: prevention, protection and prosecution,” Fedor said.
The
bill has a provision that says traffickers who intimidate or threaten
victims in an attempt to keep them from testifying in court will face
second-degree felony charges of obstruction of justice.
READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment