Opponents say the bill casts too wide a net, could be used against victims of human trafficking and strips judges of discretion in sentencing that is particularly needed given the nuances of human …
On most days, Alicia was sent to a Denver-area hotel room, where a steady stream of people would show up and pay for sex.
Now, Alicia is speaking out in support of a bill in the Colorado legislature that would extend the statute of limitations on adult human-trafficking charges from three years to 20 years, giving prosecutors two decades in which to pursue criminal charges and survivors more time to come forward about the crimes. The bill also, more controversially, sets up mandatory minimum prison sentences for those convicted of human trafficking.
“Mandatory minimums don’t work,” said James Karbach, director of legislative policy for the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. “…They’re not going to decrease the number of times the crime is committed.”Colorado divides human trafficking into two major categories: labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking involves coercing another person into performing labor, while sex trafficking involves coercing another person into engaging in commercial sexual activity.
“We know that these situations can be incredibly complicated and that human trafficking is not a black and white type of situation, there are often many shades of gray involved,” she said. “…So there might be times when a mandatory minimum prison sentence might not be appropriate for someone.” “That is usually a human trafficking victim who is put in second-in-command,” he said. “And it’s a deep second; they’re still very much subject to abuse and manipulation, but they often don’t have to continue to turn tricks if they’ll recruit girls and keep other girls in line… will tell them, we can seek 300 years against you in prison, or you can cooperate.”“We don’t want to go after victims,” she said. “And I’ve not seen prosecutors doing that. That’s a fear that is misguided.
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