Definitions of Human Trafficking - Louisiana

Date: July 2020

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Ch. Code Art. 603

The term 'abuse' means an act that seriously endangers the physical, mental, or emotional health and safety of the child, including exploitation or overwork of a child by a parent or any other person, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of the child.

The term 'crime against the child' means the commission or attempted commission of a crime, including the following:

  • The sale of minor children
  • Human trafficking
  • Pornography involving juveniles
  • Trafficking of children for sexual purposes

The term 'commercial sexual exploitation' means involvement of the child in human trafficking or trafficking of children for sexual purposes, as prohibited by Rev. Stat. §§ 14:46.2 and 46.3, or any prostitution-related offense, as prohibited by Rev. Stat. §§ 81.1, 81.3, 82, 82.1, 82.2, 83, 83.1, 83.2, 83.3, 83.4, 84, 85, 86, 89.2, 104, 105, and 282. The term 'child pornography' means visual depiction of a child engaged in actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, sadomasochistic abuse, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 14:46.2

It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly do any of the following:

  • Recruit, harbor, transport, provide, solicit, receive, isolate, entice, obtain, or maintain the use of another person through fraud, force, or coercion to provide services or labor
  • Benefit from activity prohibited by this section
  • Facilitate any of the activities prohibited by this section by any means, including, but not limited to, helping, aiding, abetting, or conspiring, regardless of whether a thing of value has been promised to or received by the person

The term 'debt bondage' means inducing an individual to provide any of the following:

  • Commercial sexual activity in payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt
  • Labor or services in payment toward or satisfaction of a real or purported debt if either of the following occur:
    • The reasonable value of the labor or services provided is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt.
    • The length of the labor or services is not limited, and the nature of the labor or services is not defined.

The term 'fraud, force, or coercion' shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following:

  • Causing or threatening to cause serious bodily injury
  • Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another person
  • Abduction or threatened abduction of an individual
  • The use of a plan, pattern, or statement with intent to cause an individual to believe that failure to perform an act will result in the use of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, or physical restraint of an individual
  • The abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process
  • The actual or threatened destruction, concealment, removal, confiscation, or possession of any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of another person
  • Controlling or threatening to control an individual's access to a controlled dangerous substance
  • The use of an individual's physical or mental impairment, when such impairment has substantial adverse effects on the individual's cognitive or volitional functions
  • The use of debt bondage or civil or criminal fraud
  • Extortion, as defined in Rev. Stat. § 14:66

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 14:46.2; 14:46.3

It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, provide, solicit, sell, purchase, receive, isolate, entice, obtain, or maintain the use of a person under age 21 for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity, regardless of whether the person was recruited, harbored, transported, provided, solicited, sold, purchased, received, isolated, enticed, obtained, or maintained through fraud, force, or coercion. It shall not be a defense to prosecution that the person did not know the age of the victim or that the victim consented to the prohibited activity.

It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly do any of the following:

  • To knowingly recruit, harbor, transport, provide, sell, purchase, receive, isolate, entice, obtain, or maintain the use of a person younger than age 18 for the purpose of engaging in commercial sexual activity
  • To knowingly benefit from activity prohibited by this section
  • For any parent, legal guardian, or person having custody of a person younger than age 18 to knowingly permit or consent to such minor entering into any activity prohibited by this section
  • To knowingly facilitate any of the activities prohibited by this section by any means, including, but not limited to, helping, aiding, abetting, or conspiring, regardless of whether a thing of value has been promised to or received by the person
  • To knowingly advertise any of the activities prohibited by this section
  • To knowingly sell or offer to sell travel services that include or facilitate any of the activities prohibited by this section

The term 'commercial sexual activity' means any sexual act performed or conducted when anything of value has been given, promised, or received by any person.

Consent of the minor or lack of knowledge of the victim's age shall not be a defense to a prosecution pursuant to this section.

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