Title: HOPE for Victims of Human Trafficking Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Help Obtaining Presumption of Exoneration for Victims of Human Trafficking Act or the HOPE for Victims of Human Trafficking Act
This bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that certain offenses were induced by coercion if the defendant establishes that he or she was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5080 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5080

   To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish a rebuttable 
presumption that certain Federal offenses were induced by coercion if a 
     defendant was the victim of trafficking when such offense was 
                   committed, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2019

Mr. Spano (for himself, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Deutch, and 
  Mr. Waltz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish a rebuttable 
presumption that certain Federal offenses were induced by coercion if a 
     defendant was the victim of trafficking when such offense was 
                   committed, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Help Obtaining Presumption of 
Exoneration for Victims of Human Trafficking Act'' or the ``HOPE for 
Victims of Human Trafficking Act''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000.

    Section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 
U.S.C. 7102) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (16), by striking ``paragraph (9)'' and 
        inserting ``paragraph (11)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (17), by striking ``paragraph (9) or 
        (10)'' and inserting ``paragraph (11) or (12)''.

SEC. 3. HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFENSE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 28. Human trafficking defense
    ``(a) Presumption.--Any defendant who establishes by a 
preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was a victim of 
trafficking at the time at which the defendant committed an offense 
under subsection (b) shall create a rebuttable presumption that the 
offense was induced by coercion.
    ``(b) Offenses.--An offense described in this subsection is--
            ``(1) an offense under section 1384 (relating to 
        prostitution near military and naval establishments);
            ``(2) an offense under section 1581, 1582, 1583, 1584, 
        1585, 1586, 1587, 1588, 1590, 1591(a), 1591(b), 1592, 1593A, 
        1594(a), or 1594(b);
            ``(3) an offense under section 2421(a), 2421a(a), 2421a(b), 
        2422, 2424(a), or 2425;
            ``(4) an offense under section 401, 404, or 406 of the 
        Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841, 844, or 846); or
            ``(5) any offense that is not a crime of violence (as such 
        term is defined in subsection (a) of section 16).
    ``(c) Sealing.--In any proceeding in which a defense under this 
section is raised, any record or part of the proceeding related to such 
defense shall, on motion, be placed under seal until such time as a 
conviction is entered for the offense.
    ``(d) Post-Conviction Relief.--An individual's failure to assert or 
failed assertion of a defense under this section may not preclude the 
individual from asserting as a mitigating factor in a proceeding for 
any post-conviction relief, that at the time of the commission of the 
acts constituting the offense, the defendant was a victim of 
trafficking and committed the acts under duress, force, or coercion.
    ``(e) Aid to Victims.--An individual's failure to assert or failed 
assertion of a defense under this section may not be used for the 
purpose of disqualifying the individual from participating in any 
federally funded program that aids victims of human trafficking.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section, the terms `coercion' and 
`victim of trafficking' have the meanings given such terms in section 
103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 
7102).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 1 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``28. Human trafficking defense.''.
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