June 5, 2017

Dauphinais Co-sponsors Bill to Combat Human Trafficking

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HARTFORD – A bill co-sponsored by State Representative Anne Dauphinais (R-44)
designed to strengthen Connecticut’s Human Trafficking Laws has unanimously passed through both the House and Senate.

The legislation would strengthen protections against victims of human trafficking while expanding and increasing the penalties on those individuals who violate the law.

“This bill would strengthen our existing laws and send a message to those individuals who are involved in human trafficking that as a legislature we are going to do whatever we can to punish them to the full extent of our law,” Rep. Dauphinais said. “I am extremely proud to have added my name to the long list of my fellow representatives who are working tirelessly to protect victims of this horrible magnitude.”

The bill makes changes to current law that would impact the following items:

Expands the conduct punishable as a trafficking and increases the penalty for the crime.
Prohibits someone age 16 or 17 from being convicted of prostitution.
Expands the crime of Enticing a Minor to include enticing a minor age 16 or 17; current law applies to minors under age 16. By law, a person commits this crime by using an interactive computer service to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, or coerce a minor to engage in prostitution or illegal sexual activity.
Imposes a $2,000 fine for Patronizing a Prostitute from a Motor Vehicle.
Subjects someone who patronizes a prostitute to this penalty regardless of whether he or she knows or should know the prostitute’s age or status as a trafficking victim. By law, a class C felony is punishable by one to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. By law, other forms of patronizing a prostitute are punishable as a class A misdemeanor. The bill requires a court to impose a $2,000 fine for this crime.
Requires using money collected from the mandatory $2,000 fines for State Police and local police prostitution and human trafficking investigations.
Requires more people to post a notice developed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator about services for human trafficking victims. By law, this notice must state the toll-free state and federal anti-trafficking hotline numbers that someone can call if he or she is forced to engage in an activity and cannot leave.
Increases the membership of the Trafficking in Persons Council

The bill now heads to the governor’s office for his signature.