Sacramento Sex Trafficking Defense Attorney

What Is Sex Trafficking?

Sex trafficking is a category of human trafficking that involves:

• depriving someone of their personal liberty with the intent to violate California’s pimping and pandering laws, child pornography laws, or certain other laws concerning commercial sexual activity and the sexual exploitation of children; or
• persuading or trying to persuade a minor to engage in a commercial sex act, with the intent to violate one of those same laws.

Crimes associated with sex trafficking include:

• enticing a female under 18 to engage in prostitution;
• pimping and pandering;
• procurement of a child under 16 for lewd or lascivious acts;
• transporting or distributing child pornography;
• developing, duplicating, printing, or exchanging child pornography;
• employing minors to participate in child pornography;
• advertising obscene material.

Penalties and Sentencing

Those convicted of sex trafficking could face a range of penalties, including:

• formal probation;
• state prison for 8, 14, or 20 years (5, 8, or 12 years if the offense was related to soliciting commercial sex from minors); and/or
• up to $500,000 in fines.

An offender will also be required to register for life as a Tier Three sex offender. Note that if the offense involved using force, fear, fraud, or some threat of unlawful injury to the alleged victim or another person, the prison sentence could increase to 15 years to life in prison.

Individuals who are found to have inflicted great bodily injury on an alleged victim while committing or attempting to commit sex trafficking could also face an additional 5, 7, or 10 years in prison on top of their underlying sentence. 

In certain situations, a defendant may also have civil charges brought against them depending on the amount of economic gain from their sex trafficking offense and other factors of the crime. Such a civil suit could amount to up to 3 times the actual damages that the alleged victim shows. If the sex trafficking involved commercial sex committed by a minor under 18 years old, the defendant may also have their assets seized.

For legal support in the face of sex trafficking charges, contact Steve Whitworth Attorney At Law. We have extensive experience with sex-related defense work and can strategize an appropriate argument for mitigated or dismissed charges. We will fight aggressively and honestly for your side, and you can trust that we will dedicate significant time to preparing your case and protecting your rights in the process.

Call (916) 659-5233 or contact Steve Whitworth Attorney At Law online for a free consultation to learn more.