2017 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
CHAPTER 3 - OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON
Section 16-3-2020. Trafficking in persons; penalties; defenses.

(A) A person who recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains, or so attempts, a victim, knowing that the victim will be subjected to sex trafficking, forced labor or services, involuntary servitude or debt bondage through any means or who benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture which has engaged in an act described in this subsection, is guilty of trafficking in persons.

(B) A person who recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains, or so attempts, a victim, for the purposes of sex trafficking, forced labor or services, involuntary servitude or debt bondage through any means or who benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture which has engaged in an act described in subsection (A), is guilty of trafficking in persons.

(C) For a first offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than fifteen years.

(D) For a second offense, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than thirty years.

(E) For a third or subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not more than forty-five years.

(F) If the victim of an offense contained in this section is under the age of eighteen, an additional term of fifteen years may be imposed in addition and must be consecutive to the penalty prescribed for a violation of this section.

(G) A person who aids, abets, or conspires with another person to violate the criminal provisions of this section must be punished in the same manner as provided for the principal offender and is considered a trafficker. A person is considered a trafficker if he knowingly gives, agrees to give, or offers to give anything of value so that any person may engage in commercial sexual activity with another person when he knows that the other person is a victim of trafficking in persons.

(H) A business owner who uses his business in a way that participates in a violation of this article, upon conviction, must be imprisoned for not more than ten years in addition to the penalties provided in this section for each violation.

(I) A plea of guilty or the legal equivalent entered pursuant to a provision of this article by an offender entitles the victim of trafficking in persons to all benefits, rights, and compensation granted pursuant to Section 16-3-1110.

(J) In a prosecution of a person who is a victim of trafficking in persons, it is an affirmative defense that he was under duress or coerced into committing the offenses for which he is subject to prosecution, if the offenses were committed as a direct result of, or incidental or related to, trafficking. A victim of trafficking in persons convicted of a violation of this article or prostitution may motion the court to vacate the conviction and expunge the record of the conviction. The court may grant the motion on a finding that the person's participation in the offense was a direct result of being a victim. A victim of trafficking in persons is not subject to prosecution pursuant to this article or prostitution, if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and committed the offense as a direct result of, or incidental or related to, trafficking.

(K) Evidence of the following facts or conditions do not constitute a defense in a prosecution for a violation of this article, nor does the evidence preclude a finding of a violation:

(1) the victim's sexual history or history of commercial sexual activity, the specific instances of the victim's sexual conduct, opinion evidence of the victim's sexual conduct, and reputation evidence of the victim's sexual conduct;

(2) the victim's connection by blood or marriage to a defendant in the case or to anyone involved in the victim's trafficking;

(3) the implied or express consent of a victim to acts which violate the provisions of this section do not constitute a defense to violations of this section;

(4) age of consent to sex, legal age of marriage, or other discretionary age; and

(5) mistake as to the victim's age, even if the mistake is reasonable.

(L) A person who violates the provisions of this section may be prosecuted by the State Grand Jury, pursuant to Section 14-7-1600, when a victim is trafficked in more than one county or a trafficker commits the offense of trafficking in persons in more than one county.

HISTORY: 2012 Act No. 258, Section 1, eff December 15, 2012; 2015 Act No. 74 (S.183), Section 1, eff June 8, 2015.

Effect of Amendment

2015 Act No. 74, Section 1, in (E), added a comma following "and"; in (G), added the second sentence; and in (J), added the last three sentences.