Definitions of Human Trafficking - Rhode Island

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Gen. Laws § 40-11-2

The term 'abused and/or neglected child' includes a child whose physical or mental health or welfare is harmed or threatened with harm when his or her parent or other person responsible for his or her welfare does any of the following:

• Sexually exploits the child in that the person allows, permits, or encourages the child to engage in prostitution
• Sexually exploits the child in that the person allows, permits, encourages, or engages in the obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depiction of the child in a setting that, taken as a whole, suggests to the average person that the child is about to engage in or has engaged in any sexual act, or that depicts any such child under age 18 performing sodomy, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, masturbation, or bestiality

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Gen. Laws §§ 11-67.1-2; 11-67.1-3; 11-67.1-4

The term 'coercion' includes the following:

• The use or threat of force against, abduction of, serious harm to, or physical restraint 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
• Controlling or threatening to control an individual's access to a controlled substance
• The destruction or taking of or a threatened destruction or taking of an individual's identification document or other property
• The 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 commission of civil or criminal fraud

The term 'debt bondage' means inducing an individual 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 are true:
  • 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.

'Human trafficking' means the commission of an offense created by §§ 11-67.1-3 through 11-67.1-7.

An 'identification document' includes 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 'labor or services' means activity having economic value.

The term 'serious harm' means harm, whether physical or nonphysical, including psychological, economic, or reputational, to an individual that would compel a reasonable individual 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.

A person commits the offense of 'trafficking an individual' if the person knowingly recruits, transports, transfers, harbors, receives, provides, obtains, isolates, maintains, or entices an individual in furtherance of either of the following:

• Forced labor in violation of § 11-67.1-4
• Sexual servitude in violation of § 11-67.1-5

A person commits the offense of 'forced labor' if the person knowingly uses coercion to compel an individual to provide labor or services, except when such conduct is permissible under Federal law or law of this State other than this chapter.

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Gen. Laws §§ 11-67.1-2; 11-67.1-5; 11-67.1-7

The term 'minor means an individual younger than age 18.

'Commercial sexual activity' means sexual activity for which anything of value is given to, promised to, or received by a person.

'Sexual activity' means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or the intentional touching of the victim's or accused's intimate body parts, clothed or unclothed, if the touching is for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or assault. The term includes a sexually explicit performance.

'Sexually explicit performance' means an act or show, intended to arouse, satisfy the sexual desires of, or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons or viewers, whether public or private, live, photographed, recorded, or videotaped.

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

• Maintains or makes available a minor for the purpose of engaging the minor in commercial sexual activity
• Uses coercion or deception to compel an adult to engage in commercial sexual activity

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

A person commits the offense of patronizing a minor for commercial sexual activity if either of the following apply:

• With the intent that an individual engage in commercial sexual activity with a minor, the person gives, agrees to give, or offers to give anything of value to a minor or another person so that the individual may engage in commercial sexual activity with a minor.
• The person gives, agrees to give, or offers to give anything of value to a minor or another person so that an individual may engage in commercial sexual activity with a minor.