Sponsored by:
Senator DOUGLAS J. STEINHARDT
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Schepisi
SYNOPSIS
Establishes affirmative defense to prosecution for any crime committed by victim of human trafficking under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning crimes committed by victims of human trafficking and amending various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8) is amended to read as follows:
1. Human trafficking. a. A person commits the crime of human trafficking if he:
(1) knowingly holds, recruits, lures, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains, by any means, another, to engage in sexual activity as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:34-1 or to provide labor or services:
(a) by causing or threatening to cause serious bodily harm or physical restraint against the person or any other person;
(b) by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that the person or any other person would suffer serious bodily harm or physical restraint;
(c) by committing a violation of N.J.S.2C:13-5 against the person;
(d) by destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any passport, immigration-related document as defined in section 1 of P.L.1997, c.1 (C.2C:21-31), or other document issued by a governmental agency to any person which could be used as a means of verifying the person's identity or age or any other personal identifying information;
(e) by means of the abuse or threatened abuse of the law or legal process;
(f) by means of fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation against the person; or
(g) by facilitating access to a controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog as set forth in chapter 35 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes; or
(2) receives anything of value from participation as an organizer, supervisor, financier or manager in a scheme or course of conduct which violates paragraph (1) of this subsection; or
(3) knowingly holds, recruits, lures, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains, by any means, a child under 18 years of age, to engage in sexual activity as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:34-1, whether or not the actor mistakenly believed that the child was 18 years of age or older, even if that mistaken belief was reasonable.
b. An offense under this section constitutes a crime of the first degree.
c. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for [a violation of this section] any offense enumerated in Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes that[,] :
(1) during the time of the alleged commission of the offense [of human trafficking created by this section], the defendant was a victim of human trafficking; and
(2) the defendant committed the offense as a direct result of the human trafficking offense committed against the defendant.
An affirmative defense pursuant to this subsection shall not be precluded solely due to the fact that a prosecution for the human trafficking offense committed against the defendant terminated without a conviction.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:43-6, the term of imprisonment imposed for a crime of the first degree under paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection a. of this section shall be either a term of 20 years during which the actor shall not be eligible for parole, or a specific term between 20 years and life imprisonment, of which the actor shall serve 20 years before being eligible for parole. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:43-3, the sentence for a conviction for a crime of the first degree under this section shall include a fine in an amount of not less than $25,000, which shall be collected as provided for the collection of fines and restitutions in section 3 of P.L.1979, c.396 (C.2C:46-4) and forwarded to the Department of the Treasury to be deposited in the "Human Trafficking Survivor's Assistance Fund" established by section 2 of P.L.2013, c.51 (C.52:17B-238).
e. In addition to any other disposition authorized by law, any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be ordered to make restitution to any victim. The court shall award to the victim restitution which is the greater of:
(1) the gross income or value to the defendant of the victim's labor or services; or
(2) the value of the victim's labor or services as determined by the "New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act," P.L.1963, c.150 (C.34:11-56.25 et seq.), the "New Jersey State Wage and Hour Law," P.L.1966, c.113 (C.34:11-56a et seq.), the Seasonal Farm Labor Act, P.L.1945, c.71 (C.34:9A-1 et seq.), the laws concerning the regulation of child labor in chapter 2 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, or any other applicable State law, and the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 29 U.S.C. s.201 et seq., or any other applicable federal law.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.51, s.3)
2. Section 5 of P.L.2013, c.51 (C.2C:13-9) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. A person commits a crime of the second degree if he:
(1) provides services, resources, or assistance with the knowledge that the services, resources, or assistance are intended to be used in furtherance of the commission of the crime of human trafficking in violation of section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8).
(a) For purposes of this paragraph, "services, resources, or assistance" shall include financial support, business services, lodging, transportation, the provision of false documentation or identification, equipment, facilities, or any other service or property with a pecuniary value that exceeds $200, whether or not a person is compensated for the services, resources, or assistance, but shall not include humanitarian or charitable aid or services provided directly to a victim of human trafficking.
(b) For purposes of this paragraph, the requisite knowledge that services, resources, or assistance are intended to be used in furtherance of the commission of the crime of human trafficking may be inferred if the defendant was aware that a person to whom the defendant was providing services, resources, or assistance: (i) was subject to or subjected another to restrictions on the person's freedom of movement, so that the person could not leave without accompaniment of another person or was otherwise subjected to obvious restrictions on mobility; or (ii) did not possess or have access to any means of communication, including but not limited to a cellular or other wireless telephone or other electronic communication device, and was not permitted or was otherwise unable to communicate with another person without supervision or permission; or
(2) procures or attempts to procure a person to engage in sexual activity as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:34-1, or to provide labor or services, whether for himself or another person, knowing that the person provided or to be provided was a victim of human trafficking, or under circumstances in which a reasonable person would conclude that there was a substantial likelihood that the person was a victim of human trafficking.
(a) For purposes of this paragraph, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the defendant knew, and that a reasonable person would