Definitions of Human Trafficking - Tennessee

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 37-1-102; 37-1-602

The term 'severe child abuse' includes the commission of any act toward the child prohibited by § 39-13-309 (trafficking a person for a commercial sex act), §§ 39-13-502 through 39-13-504 (rape, sexual battery), § 39-13-515 (promoting prostitution), § 39-13-522 (rape of a child), § 39-13-527 (sexual battery by an authority figure), § 39-13-531 (aggravated rape of a child), § 39-13-532 (statutory rape by an authority figure), § 39-15-302 (incest), § 39-15-402 (aggravated child abuse, neglect, or endangerment), or § 39-17-1005 (aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor), or the knowing failure to protect the child from the commission of any such act toward the child.

The term 'child sexual abuse' includes either of the following:

• Sexual exploitation of a child, which includes allowing, encouraging, or forcing a child to do either of the following:
  • Solicit for or engage in prostitution
  • Engage in an act prohibited by § 39-17-1003 (sexual exploitation of a minor)
• The commission of any act towards the child prohibited by § 39-13-309 (trafficking a person for a commercial sex act)

Harm to a child's health or welfare can occur when the parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare does either of the following:

• Commits or allows to be committed child sexual abuse
• Exploits a child younger than age 18 or allows the child to be exploited, as provided in §§ 39-17-1003 through 39-17-1005

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 39-13-314; 39-13-307; 39-13-308; 39-13-301

The term 'human trafficking offense' means the commission of any act that constitutes either of the following crimes:

• Involuntary labor servitude, under § 39-13-307
• Trafficking persons for forced labor or services, under § 39-13-308

A person commits the offense of involuntary labor servitude who knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor or services by any of the following means:

• Causing or threatening to cause serious bodily harm to the person
• Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain the person
• Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process
• Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of the person
• Using blackmail or using or threatening to cause financial harm for the purpose of exercising financial control over the person
• Facilitating or controlling the person's access to an addictive controlled substance
• Controlling the person's movements through threats or violence

A person commits the offense of trafficking persons for forced labor or services who knowingly does the following:

• 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, intending or knowing that the person will be subjected to involuntary servitude
• Benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture that has engaged in an act above

The term 'blackmail' means threatening to expose or reveal the identity of another or any material, document, secret, or other information that might subject a person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, loss of employment, social status, or economic harm.

The term 'coercion' means the following:

• Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any person, physically restraining or confining any person, or threatening to physically restrain or confine any person
• Exposing or threatening to expose any fact or information that, if revealed, would tend to subject a person to criminal or immigration proceedings, hatred, contempt, or ridicule
• Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of any person
• Providing a controlled substance or a controlled substance analogue to a person

The term 'deception' means the following:

• Creating or confirming another person's impression of an existing fact or past event that is false and that the accused knows or believes to be false
• Maintaining the status or condition of a person arising from a pledge by that person of personal services as security for a 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, or preventing a person from acquiring information pertinent to the disposition of the debt
• Promising benefits or the performance of services that the accused does not intend to deliver or perform or knows will not be delivered or performed

The term 'financial harm' includes extortion, as defined by § 39-14-112; criminal violation of the usury laws, as defined by § 47-14-112; or employment contracts that violate the statute of fraud, as defined by § 29-2-101(b).

The term 'involuntary servitude' means the condition of a person who is compelled by force, coercion, or imprisonment and against the person's will to labor for another, whether paid or not.

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Ann. Code §§ 39-13-314; 39-13-309; 39-13-301

The term 'human trafficking offense' means the commission of any act that constitutes the following:

• Trafficking for commercial sex act
• Promoting the prostitution of a minor

A person commits the offense of trafficking a person for a commercial sex act who does the following:

• Knowingly subjects, attempts to subject, benefits from, or attempts to benefit from another person's provision of a commercial sex act
• Recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, purchases, or obtains by any other means, another person for the purpose of providing a commercial sex act through any of the following means:
  • Causing or threatening to cause physical harm to the person
  • Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain the person
  • Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process
  • Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of the person
  • Using blackmail or using or threatening to cause financial harm for the purpose of exercising financial control over the person
  • Facilitating or controlling a person's access to a controlled substance
• Commits the acts when the intended victim of the offense is a law enforcement officer or a law enforcement officer posing as a minor

The term 'commercial sex act' means the following:

• Any sexually explicit conduct for which anything of value is directly or indirectly given, promised to, or received by any person, and the conduct is induced or obtained by coercion or deception or is induced or obtained from a person younger than age 18
• Any sexually explicit conduct that is performed or provided by any person, and the conduct is induced or obtained by coercion or deception or is induced or obtained from a person younger than age 18