Definitions of Human Trafficking - Kentucky

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 600.020

The term 'abused or neglected child' includes a child whose health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm by the following:

• The child's parent or guardian; person in a position of authority or special trust, as defined in § 532.045; or other person exercising custodial control or supervision of the child does the following:
  • Commits or allows to be committed an act of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or prostitution upon the child
  • Creates or allows to be created a risk that an act of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or prostitution will be committed upon the child
• A person age 21 or older commits or allows to be committed an act of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or prostitution upon a child younger than age 16.

The term 'sexual abuse' includes, but is not necessarily limited to, any contacts or interactions in which the parent, guardian, person in a position of authority or special trust, or other person having custodial control or supervision of the child or responsibility for his or her welfare, uses or allows, permits, or encourages the use of the child for the purposes of sexual stimulation of the perpetrator or another person.

The term 'sexual exploitation' includes. but is not limited to, the following situations:

• A parent; guardian; person in a position of authority or special trust; or other person having custodial control, supervision, or responsibility for the welfare of a child allows, permits, or encourages the child to engage in an act that constitutes prostitution.
• A parent; guardian; person in a position of authority or special trust; or other person having custodial control, supervision, or responsibility for the welfare of a child allows, permits, or encourages the child to engage in an act of obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child.

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 529.010; 529.110

The term 'human trafficking' refers to criminal activity whereby one or more persons are subjected to engaging in forced labor or services. 'Forced labor or services' means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and that are obtained through force, fraud, or coercion.

'Force, fraud, or coercion' includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• The use or threat of force against, abduction of, restraint, or serious harm of an individual
• The abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process
• Facilitating, controlling, or threatening to control an individual's access to a controlled substance
• Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing, or attempting to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess, any actual or purported passport or other immigration documents or any other actual or purported governmental identification documents of the person or family member
• Use of debt bondage
• The use of an individual's physical or mental impairment when the impairment has a substantial adverse effect on the individual's cognitive or volitional function

The term 'debt bondage' means the status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge by the debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person under his or her control as a security for the debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.

A 'victim of human trafficking' is a person who has been subjected to human trafficking.

A person is guilty of promoting human trafficking when the person intentionally does the following:

• Benefits financially or receives anything of value from knowing participation in human trafficking
• Recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain by any means, another person, knowing that the person will be subject to human trafficking

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 529.010

The term 'human trafficking' refers to criminal activity whereby one or more persons are subjected to engaging in commercial sexual activity through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, except that if the trafficked person is younger than age 18, the commercial sexual activity need not involve force, fraud, or coercion.

The term 'commercial sexual activity' means any of the following:

• Any sex act, for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by any person
• Participation in the production of obscene material
• Engaging in a sexually explicit performance

The term 'serious harm' means any harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, financial, or reputational harm, that is sufficiently serious to compel a reasonable person to perform or to continue performing commercial sexual activity in order to avoid incurring that harm. The term 'services' means an ongoing relationship between a person and the actor in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor. The term 'sexual conduct' means sexual intercourse or any act of sexual gratification involving the sex organs.