§ 2652. Human trafficking

(a) No person shall knowingly:

(1) recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain by any means a person under the age of 18 for the purpose of having the person engage in a commercial sex act;

(2) recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain a person through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of having the person engage in a commercial sex act;

(3) compel a person through force, fraud, or coercion to engage in a commercial sex act;

(4) benefit financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture, knowing that force, fraud, or coercion was or will be used to compel any person to engage in a commercial sex act as part of the venture;

(5) subject a person to labor servitude;

(6) recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain a person for the purpose of subjecting the person to labor servitude; or

(7) benefit financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture, knowing that a person will be subject to labor servitude as part of the venture.

(b) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be imprisoned for a term up to and including life or fined not more than $500,000.00, or both.

(c)(1)(A) A person who is a victim of sex trafficking in violation of subdivisions 2652(a)(1)-(4) of this title shall not be found in violation of or be the subject of a delinquency petition based on chapter 59 (lewdness and prostitution) or 63 (obscenity) of this title for any conduct committed as a victim of sex trafficking.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person under the age of 18 shall be immune from prosecution in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court for a violation of section 2632 of this title (prohibited acts; prostitution), but may be treated as a juvenile under 33 V.S.A. chapter 52 or referred to the Department for Children and Families for treatment under 33 V.S.A. chapter 53.

(2) If a person who is a victim of sex trafficking in violation of subdivisions 2652(a)(1)-(4) of this title is prosecuted for any offense or is the subject of any delinquency petition other than a violation of chapter 59 (lewdness and prostitution) or 63 (obscenity) of this title that arises out of the sex trafficking or benefits the sex trafficker, the person may raise as an affirmative defense that he or she committed the offense as a result of force, fraud, or coercion by a sex trafficker.

(d) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, the victim's alleged consent to the human trafficking is immaterial and shall not be admitted.

(e) If a person who is a victim of human trafficking is under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the State may treat the person as the subject of a child in need of care or supervision proceeding. (Added 2011, No. 55, § 2.)