Definitions of Human Trafficking - Wisconsin

Date: July 2020

Defined in Child Protection Law

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.02

Effective August 1, 2020: The term 'abuse' includes either of the following:

  • A violation of § 948.05 (sexual exploitation of a child)
  • A violation of § 948.051 (trafficking of a child)

Definitions of Labor Trafficking

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 940.302

The term 'trafficking' means recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining or attempting to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain, an individual.

A person commits the crime of trafficking as follows:

  • One of the following applies:
    • The trafficking is for the purposes of labor or services.
    • The trafficking is for the purposes of a commercial sex act.
  • The trafficking is done by any of the following:
    • Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any individual
    • Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any individual
    • Restraining or threatening to restrain any individual
    • Violating or threatening to violate a law
    • Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing or threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess, any actual or purported passport or any other actual or purported official identification document of any individual
    • Extortion
    • Fraud or deception
    • Debt bondage
    • Controlling or threatening to control any individual's access to an addictive controlled substance
    • Using any scheme, pattern, or other means to directly or indirectly coerce, threaten, or intimidate any individual
    • Using or threatening to use force or violence on any individual
    • Causing or threatening to cause any individual to do any act against the individual's will or without the individual's consent

A person commits a felony if that person does either of the following:

  • Benefits in any manner from trafficking if the person knows or reasonably should have known that the benefits come from or are derived from an act of trafficking
  • Receives compensation from the earnings of debt bondage, a prostitute, or a commercial sex act

The term 'commercial sex act' means any of the following for which anything of value is given to, promised, or received, directly or indirectly, by any person:

  • Sexual contact
  • Sexual intercourse
  • Sexually explicit performance
  • Any other conduct done for the purpose of sexual humiliation, degradation, arousal, or gratification

The term 'debt bondage' means the condition of a debtor arising from the debtor's pledge of services as a security for debt if the reasonable value of those services is not applied toward repaying the debt or if the length and nature of the services are not defined. The term 'services' means activities performed by one individual at the request, under the supervision, or for the benefit of another person.

Definitions of Sex Trafficking of Minors

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 948.051

A person commits the felony of trafficking a child if that person does either of the following:

  • Knowingly recruits, entices, provides, obtains, harbors, transports, patronizes, or solicits or knowingly attempts to recruit, entice, provide, obtain, harbor, transport, patronize, or solicit any child for the purpose of commercial sex acts
  • Benefits in any manner from a violation of the above if the person knows that the benefits come from an act described above

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