Chapter
217
2007 -- H 5881 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/02/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL
OFFENSES -- TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS AND
INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE
Introduced By: Representatives Giannini, Kilmartin, Mattiello, Rice, and D Caprio
Date Introduced: March 01,
2007
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Title 11 of the General Laws entitled "CRIMINAL OFFENSES" is
hereby
amended
by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER 67
TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS AND INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE
11-67-1.
Definitions. -- As used herein:
(1)
"Intimidation" means an intentional written, verbal or physical act
or threat of a
physical
act that, under the totality of circumstances a reasonable person should know
will have
the
effect of: physically harming, or damaging a person's property, placing a
person in reasonable
fear
of harm to his or her person or to his or her family, or placing a person in
reasonable fear of
damage
to his or her property.
(2) "Commercial sexual activity" means any sex act which is performed
or promised in
return
for payment of money.
(3) "Forced labor" means labor performed or provided by another
person that is obtained
or
maintained through:
(i)
any scheme, plan, or pattern intending to cause or threatening to cause
physical harm
to
any person;
(ii)
an actor's physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another
person;
(iii)
an actor's abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;
(iv)
an actor's knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or
possessing
without
a person’s consent any actual or purported passport or other immigration
document, or
any
other actual or purported government identification document, of another
person;
(v)
an actor's blackmail; or
(vi)
an actor's intimidation.
(4)
"Labor" means work of economic or financial value.
(5)
"Maintain" means, in relation to labor, to secure continued
performance thereof,
regardless
of any initial agreement on the part of the victim to perform such type of
labor.
(6)
"Obtain" means in relation to labor, to secure continued performance
thereof.
(7)
"Sex act" means any sexual contact or sexual penetration of a person,
as defined in
11-37-1.
(8)
"Victim" means a person subject to the practices set forth in
sections 11-67-2 or 11-
67-3.
11-67-2.
Involuntary servitude -- (a) Whoever knowingly subjects, attempts to
subject,
or
engages in a conspiracy to subject another person to forced labor in order to
commit a
commercial
sexual activity either by:
(1)
causing or threatening to cause physical harm to any person;
(2)
physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another person;
(3)
abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;
(4)
knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing without
that
person’s
consent any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any
other
actual
or purported government identification document, of another person; or
(5)
by using intimidation; shall be guilty of a felony and subject to not more than
twenty
(20)
years imprisonment or a fine of not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000)
or both.
(b) In cases involving a minor between the ages of seventeen (17) and eighteen
(18)
years,
the defendant is guilty of a felony, and subject to not more than thirty (30)
years
imprisonment,
or a fine of not more than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), or both;
(c)
In cases in which the minor had not attained the age of seventeen (17) years,
defendant
is guilty of a felony, and subject to not more than forty (40) years
imprisonment, or a
fine
of up to forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or both.
11-67-3.
Trafficking of persons for forced labor or commercial sexual activity. –
Whoever
knowingly:
(a)
recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains by any means, or
attempts to
recruit,
entice, harbor, transport provide, or obtain by any means, another person,
intending or
knowing
that the person will be subjected to forced labor in order to commit a
commercial sexual
activity;
or
(b)_benefits,
financially or by receiving anything of value, from knowing participation in
a
venture which has engaged in an act described in violation of section 11-67-2,
or 11-67-3, is
guilty
of a felony and subject to not more than twenty (20) years imprisonment or a
fine of not
more
than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or both; provided, however, that this
subsection
shall
not apply to a “victim” as defined in this chapter.
11-67-4.
Restitution. – In addition to any other amount of loss identified,
the court shall
order
restitution including the greater of:
(a)
the gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's labor or commercial
sexual
activity;
or
(b)
the value of the victim's labor as guaranteed under the minimum wage law and
overtime
provisions of the fair labor standards act (FLSA) or the minimum wage law,
whichever
is
greater.
11-67-5.
Forfeitures. – (a) A person who is found in a criminal proceeding to
be in
violation
of section 11-67-2 or 11-67-3 shall forfeit to the state of Rhode Island any
profits or
proceeds
and any interest or property he or she has acquired or maintained in violation
of this act,
that
the sentencing court determines, after a forfeiture hearing, to have been
acquired or
maintained
as a result of maintaining a person in involuntary servitude or participating
in
trafficking
in persons for forced labor in order to commit a criminal sexual activity.
(b)
The court shall upon petition by the attorney general at any time following
sentencing,
conduct a hearing to determine whether any property or property interest is
subject to
forfeiture
under this section. At the forfeiture hearing the state shall have the burden
of
establishing
by a preponderance of the evidence that property or property interests are
subject to
forfeiture
under this act.
(c)
In any action brought by the state of Rhode Island under this section, wherein
any
restraining
order, injunction, or prohibition or any other action in connection with any
property or
interest
subject to forfeiture under this section is sought, the court shall first
determine whether
there
is probable cause to believe that the person or persons so charged have
committed the
offense
of involuntary servitude, involuntary servitude of a minor, or trafficking in
persons for
forced
labor or commercial sexual activity and whether the property or property
interest is subject
to
forfeiture pursuant to this section.
(d)
All monies forfeited and the sale proceeds of all other property forfeited and
seized
under
this section shall be deposited in the general fund.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01747/SUB A/3
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