Sex Trafficking: An Abbreviated Overview of Federal Criminal Law (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
June 25, 2015 |
| Report Number |
R43598 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Charles Doyle, Senior Specialist in American Public Law |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
Sex trafficking is a state crime. Federal law, however, makes it a federal crime to conduct the
activities of a sex trafficking enterprise in a way that affects interstate or foreign commerce or
that involves travel in interstate or foreign commerce. Section 1591 of Title 18 of the United
States Code outlaws sex trafficking activities that affect interstate or foreign commerce. The
Mann Act outlaws sex trafficking activities that involve travel in interstate or foreign commerce.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (Victims Justice Act; P.L. 114-22/S. 178)
amended both §1591 and the Mann Act.
Section 1591 now provides in part the following: “Whoever knowingly in or affecting interstate
or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, advertises, maintains, patronizes, or
solicits by any means a person; knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that means of force,
threats of force, fraud, coercion ... , or any combination of such means will be used to cause the
person to engage in a commercial sex act, or that the person has not attained the age of 18 years
and will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act,” shall be imprisoned not less than 15 years
(not less than 10 years, if the victim is 14 years of age or older and the offender is less than 18
years of age).
The Mann Act outlaws prostitution and unlawful sexual activities that involve interstate or
foreign travel. It consists of three principal substantive sections. Section 2421 proscribes the
interstate or foreign transportation of someone for purposes of prostitution or unlawful sexual
activity; misconduct which is punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years. Section
2422 condemns coercing or enticing another person to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to
engage in prostitution or unlawful sexual activity, or using interstate communications to coerce or
entice a child to engage in such conduct. The communications offense is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than 10 years; the travel offense by imprisonment for not more than 20
years. Section 2423 outlaws four distinct offenses: (1) §2423(a)—transportation of a child in
interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of prostitution or unlawful sexual purposes; (2)
§2423(b)—interstate or foreign travel for purposes of unlawful sexual abuse of a child; (3)
§2423(c)—foreign travel and subsequent unlawful sexual abuse of a child; and (4) §2423(d)—
arranging, for profit, the travel outlawed in any of these offenses. The first is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than 10 years, each of the others by imprisonment for not more than 30
years.
An offender also faces the prospect of a fine of not more than $250,000 (not more than $500,000
for an organization); unless indigent, to a special assessment of $5,000; a term of supervised
release of not less than five years; an order to pay the victim restitution; and the confiscation of
any property derived from, or used to facilitate commission of, any of the offenses.
This report is available in an abridged version without the footnotes and most of the citations to
authority found here under the title CRS Report R43598, Sex Trafficking: An Abbreviated
Overview of Federal Criminal Law.
