Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-140
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2015-01-08 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crime victims
Crimes against children
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Evidence and witnesses
Human trafficking
Judges
Law enforcement officers
Mental health
Sex offenses

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-08
text: 

Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015

 
Amends the federal criminal code, with respect to sex trafficking of children, to: (1) subject to criminal prosecution buyers, as well as sellers, of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims; (2) provide that in prosecutions of sex trafficking crimes, the government is not required to prove that a sex trafficking defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that a victim was under age 18; (3) equalize the period of supervised release for sex trafficking offenders convicted of conspiracy; (4) expand wiretap authority for investigating crimes related to sex trafficking, including slavery, involuntary servitude, and forced labor; (5) grant crime victims the right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea agreement or deferred prosecution agreement; and (6) require an appellate court to apply ordinary standards of review in reviewing appeals filed by crime victims. 
 
Requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prepare and report annually on: (1) the rates of arrests by state law enforcement officers for sex trafficking crimes involving buyers of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims, and (2) prosecutions and convictions for such crimes in state courts. 
 
Directs the Attorney General to ensure that: (1) DOJ anti-human trafficking training programs, including programs for law enforcement officers, include technical training on effective methods for investigating and prosecuting individuals who obtain, patronize, or solicit a commercial sex act involving a person subject to severe forms of human trafficking and on facilitating the provision of physical and mental health services by health care providers to persons subject to severe forms of human trafficking; (2) federal law enforcement officers are engaged in activities, programs, or operations involving the detection, investigation, and prosecution of such offenses; and (3) DOJ anti-human trafficking programs for U.S. attorneys or other federal prosecutors include training on seeking restitution for peonage, slavery, and human trafficking offenses to ensure that each such attorney, upon obtaining a conviction for such an offense, requests a specific amount of restitution for each victim without regard to whether the victim requests it. Requires the Federal Judicial Center to provide training to judges relating to the application of mandatory restitution provisions regarding ordering restitution for victims of such offenses.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S105-106; text of measure as introduced: CR S106-107)
action_date: 2015-01-08
text: Introduced in Senate