Definitions of Human Trafficking - Montana

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Ann. Code § 41-3-102

The term 'child abuse or neglect' means the following:

• Actual physical or psychological harm to a child
• Substantial risk of physical or psychological harm to a child
• Abandonment

The term includes any form of child sex trafficking or human trafficking.

The term 'sexual abuse' means the commission of sexual assault, sexual intercourse without consent, indecent exposure, sexual abuse, ritual abuse of a minor, or incest.

The term 'sexual exploitation' means the following:

• Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in a prostitution offense
• Allowing, permitting, or encouraging sexual abuse of children
• Allowing, permitting, or encouraging sexual servitude, as described in § 45-5-704 or 45-5-705

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 45-5-701; 45-5-702; 45-5-703; 45-5-706

The term 'human trafficking' means the commission of an offense under §§ 45-5-702 and 45-5-703.

A person commits the offense of trafficking of persons if the person purposely or knowingly does the following:

• Recruits, transports, transfers, harbors, receives, provides, obtains, isolates, maintains, or entices another person intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to involuntary servitude or sexual servitude
• Benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from facilitating any conduct described above or participation in a venture that has subjected another person to involuntary servitude or sexual servitude

A person commits the offense of involuntary servitude if the person purposely or knowingly uses coercion to compel another person to provide labor or services, unless the conduct is otherwise permissible under Federal or State law.

An aggravating circumstance during the commission of an offense under this chapter occurs when the defendant recruited, enticed, or obtained the victim of the offense from a shelter that serves runaway youth, foster children, homeless persons, or persons subjected to human trafficking, domestic violence, or sexual assault.

The term 'coercion' means the following:

• The use or threat of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, or physical restraint of a person
• The use of a plan, pattern, or statement with the intent to cause a person 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 a person
• The abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process
• Controlling or threatening to control a person's access to any substance defined as a dangerous drug
• The actual or threatened destruction or taking of a person's identification document or other property
• The use of debt bondage
• The use of a person's physical or mental impairment when the impairment has a substantial adverse effect on the person's cognitive or volitional function
• The commission of civil or criminal fraud

The term 'debt bondage' means inducing a person to provide 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 the following apply:
  • The reasonable value of the labor or services 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 'identification document' means a passport, driver's license, immigration document, travel document, or other government-issued identification document, including a document issued by a foreign government.

The term 'serious harm' means physical or nonphysical harm, including psychological, economic, or reputational harm to a person that would compel a reasonable person of the same background and in the same circumstances to perform or continue to perform labor or services or sexual activity to avoid incurring the harm.

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 45-5-701; 45-5-704; 45-5-705; 45-5-709

The term 'human trafficking' means the commission of an offense under §§ 45-5-704 or 45-5-705.

A person commits the offense of sexual servitude if the person purposely or knowingly does the following:

• Uses fraud, coercion, or deception to compel an adult to engage in commercial sexual activity
• Recruits, transports, transfers, harbors, receives, provides, obtains by any means, isolates, entices, maintains, or makes available a child for the purpose of commercial sexual activity

It is not a defense in a prosecution under this section that the child consented to engage in commercial sexual activity or that the defendant believed the child was an adult.

A person commits the offense of patronizing a victim of sexual servitude if the person purposely or knowingly gives, agrees to give, or offers to give anything of value so that a person may engage in commercial sexual activity with a child.

A person is not criminally liable or subject to proceedings for prostitution, promoting prostitution, or other nonviolent offenses if the person was a child at the time of the offense and committed the offense as a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking.

The term 'commercial sexual activity' means sexual activity for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by a person. The term 'sexual activity' means any sex act or simulated sex act intended to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. The term includes a sexually explicit performance. 'Sexually explicit performance' means a live, public, private, photographed, recorded, or videotaped act or simulated act intended to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.