Sec. 109. Sense of Congress

267 words·~1 min read·/bill/114/s/178/enr/section-109

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It is the sense of Congress that— 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 ; while use of the word obtains in section 1591, United States Code, has been interpreted, prior to the date of enactment of this Act, to encompass those who purchase illicit sexual acts from trafficking victims, some confusion persists; 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 section 108 of this title 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.

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702 F.3d 1066

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Sec. 109

Sense of Congress

F. App'x702 F.3d 1066

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