Prostitution, trafficking penalties discussed

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Feb. 20 on a bill that would enhance penalties for pandering, soliciting and harboring people for prostitution.

Under LB255, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill, prostitution-related crimes would be considered a:
• Class I misdemeanor with a $500 fine for the first offense of soliciting a person for sex in exchange for money or something of value;
• Class II felony for debauchment of minors and harboring minors for prostitution;
• Class IIIA felony with a $5,000 fine for pandering;
• Class IIIA felony with a $2,500 fine for the first time offense of soliciting a minor for sex in exchange for money or something of value; and
• Class IIIA felony with a $5,000 fine for harboring people for prostitution.

The bill also would create offenses for human and labor trafficking and child labor trafficking. Human trafficking would be a defense for victims who are charged with prostitution and minor victims would be immune from prosecution and placed in temporary state custody. Victims would be allowed to submit a written statement in lieu of testifying against their perpetrators at trial.

Many human trafficking victims do not seek assistance from law enforcement because they fear prosecution or deportation, McGill said, so state data on human trafficking has been difficult to collect. Current laws prosecute victims of human trafficking, she said, while those who buy and sell people for sex often face minimal legal consequences.

Prosecuting prostitution customers is the most effective way to combat human trafficking, McGill said.

Christy Hargesheimer, Lincoln coordinator for One Billion Rising, testified in support of the bill. Many human trafficking victims are undocumented and fear law enforcement, she said, so the bill would provide them protection rather than treat them as criminals.

Robert Sanford, legal director of the Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Coalition, also testified in support of the bill. Human trafficking victims will seek help only if they recognize that the risk to them is greater if the crime is unreported, he said.

Sanford said the bill would reassure victims that they would not be criminalized for seeking help. Furthermore, he said, enhancing penalties for perpetrators would allow the victims more time to overcome the trauma of being trafficked.

Al Riskowski, executive director of the Nebraska Family Council, testified in support and said defining human trafficking in state statute would help increase awareness of it throughout the state. The council contacted 2,500 organizations and inquired about their level of knowledge on human trafficking, he said, and of the 1,413 organizations that responded, only 25 of them recognized that human trafficking occurs in Nebraska.

“There is a tremendous need for understanding on this topic,” Riskowski said. “The greatest advantage [human traffickers] have is that they are moving in darkness.”

Denise Frost of the Nebraska Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys testified in opposition to the bill, saying it violates the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Defendants have the right to be confronted by their accusers, she said, so allowing the victims to submit letters in lieu of testifying in court would be unconstitutional.

“This bill as drafted would result in appeals of convictions and would negate the good it was intended to accomplish,” Frost said.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.