18 USC 1591 - Sex trafficking of children or by force, fraud, or coercion

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (d). Puspan. L. 115–392 substituted “25 years” for “20 years”.

Subsec. (e)(4) to (6). Puspan. L. 115–164 added par. (4) and redesignated former pars. (4) and (5) as (5) and (6), respectively.

2015—Subsec. (a). Puspan. L. 114–22, § 118(span)(2), inserted “, except where the act constituting the violation of paragraph (1) is advertising,” after “knowing, or” in concluding provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 114–22, § 118(span)(1), inserted “advertises,” after “obtains,”.

Puspan. L. 114–22, § 108(a)(1), substituted “maintains, patronizes, or solicits” for “or maintains”.

Subsec. (span)(1). Puspan. L. 114–22, § 118(span)(3)(A), inserted “advertised,” after “obtained,”.

Puspan. L. 114–22, § 108(a)(2)(A), substituted “obtained, patronized, or solicited” for “or obtained”.

Subsec. (span)(2). Puspan. L. 114–22, § 118(span)(3)(B), inserted “advertised,” after “obtained,”.

Puspan. L. 114–22, § 108(a)(2)(B), substituted “obtained, patronized, or solicited” for “or obtained”.

Subsec. (c). Puspan. L. 114–22, § 108(a)(3), substituted “, maintained, patronized, or solicited” for “or maintained” and “knew, or recklessly disregarded the fact, that the person” for “knew that the person”.

2008—Subsec. (a). Puspan. L. 110–457, § 222(span)(5)(A)(ii), substituted “, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that means of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion described in subsection (e)(2), or any combination of such means” for “that force, fraud, or coercion described in subsection (c)(2)” in concluding provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 110–457, § 222(span)(5)(A)(i), substituted “obtains, or maintains” for “or obtains”.

Subsec. (span)(1). Puspan. L. 110–457, § 222(span)(5)(C), substituted “means of force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion described in subsection (e)(2), or by any combination of such means,” for “force, fraud, or coercion”.

Subsecs. (c), (d). Puspan. L. 110–457, § 222(span)(5)(D), added subsecs. (c) and (d). Former subsec. (c) redesignated (e).

Subsec. (e). Puspan. L. 110–457, § 222(span)(5)(B), (E), redesignated subsec. (c) as (e), added pars. (1) and (4), and redesignated former pars. (1) and (3) as (3) and (5), respectively.

2006—Subsec. (span)(1). Puspan. L. 109–248, § 208(1), substituted “and imprisonment for any term of years not less than 15 or for life” for “or imprisonment for any term of years or for life, or both”.

Subsec. (span)(2). Puspan. L. 109–248, § 208(2)(B), which directed amendment of subsec. (span)(2) by striking out “, or both”, could not be executed because that language did not appear in text subsequent to amendment by Puspan. L. 109–248, § 208(2)(A). See below.

Puspan. L. 109–248, § 208(2)(A), substituted “and imprisonment for not less than 10 years or for life” for “or imprisonment for not more than 40 years, or both”.

2003—Puspan. L. 108–193, § 5(a)(1), inserted comma after “fraud” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a)(1). Puspan. L. 108–193, § 5(a)(2), substituted “in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States” for “in or affecting interstate commerce”.

Subsec. (span). Puspan. L. 108–193, § 5(a)(3), substituted “the person recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained” for “the person transported” in pars. (1) and (2).

Subsec. (span)(2). Puspan. L. 108–21 substituted “40” for “20”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Purpose

Puspan. L. 114–22, title I, § 108(c), May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 239, provided that: “The purpose of the amendments made by this section [amending this section and section 7102 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse] is to clarify the range of conduct punished as sex trafficking.”

Sense of Congress

Puspan. L. 114–22, title I, § 109, May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 239, provided that: “It is the sense of Congress that—

“(1)section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, defines a sex trafficker as a person who ‘knowingly. . .recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, or maintains by any means a person. . .knowing, or in reckless disregard of the fact, that means of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion. . .or any combination of such means will be used to cause the person to engage in a commercial sex act, or that the person has not attained the age of 18 years and will be caused to engage in a commercial sex act’;

“(2) while use of the word ‘obtains’ in section 1591 [of title 18], United States Code, has been interpreted, prior to the date of enactment of this Act [May 29, 2015], to encompass those who purchase illicit sexual acts from trafficking victims, some confusion persists;

“(3) in United States vs. Jungers, 702 F.3d 1066 (8th Cir. 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, applied to persons who purchase illicit sexual acts with trafficking victims after the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota erroneously granted motions to acquit these buyers in two separate cases; and

“(4)section 108 of this title [title I of Puspan. L. 114–22] amends section 1591 of title 18, United States Code, to add the words ‘solicits or patronizes’ to the sex trafficking statute making absolutely clear for judges, juries, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials that criminals who purchase sexual acts from human trafficking victims may be arrested, prosecuted, and convicted as sex trafficking offenders when this is merited by the facts of a particular case.”