NH Rev Stat § 633:7 (2021)
2021 New Hampshire Revised Statutes|Title LXII - Criminal Code|Title 633 - Interference With Freedom|Section 633:7 - Trafficking in Persons.

    633:7 Trafficking in Persons. –||I. (a) It is a class A felony to knowingly compel a person against his or her will to perform a service or labor, including a commercial sex act or a sexually-explicit performance, for the benefit of another, where the compulsion is accomplished by any of the following means:||(1) Causing or threatening to cause serious harm to any person.||(2) Confining the person unlawfully as defined in RSA 633:2, II, or threatening to so confine the person.||(3) Abusing or threatening abuse of law or legal process.||(4) Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or otherwise making unavailable to that person any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document.||(5) Threatening to commit a crime against the person.||(6) False promise relating to the terms and conditions of employment, education, marriage, or financial support.||(7) Threatening to reveal any information sought to be kept concealed by the person which relates to the person's legal status or which would expose the person to criminal liability.||(8) Facilitating or controlling the person's access to an addictive controlled substance.||(9) Engaging in any scheme, plan, or pattern, whether overt or subtle, intended to cause the person to believe that, if he or she did not perform such labor, services, commercial sex acts, or sexually explicit performances, that such person or any person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint.||(10) Withholding or threatening to withhold food or medication that the actor has an obligation or has promised to provide to the person.||(11) Coercing a person to engage in any of the foregoing acts by requiring such in satisfaction of a debt owed to the actor.||(b) The means listed in subparagraphs (a)(4), (a)(10), and (a)(11) are not intended to criminalize the actions of a parent or guardian who requires his or her child to perform common household chores under threat of typical parental discipline.||(c) A person performs a service or labor against his or her will if the person is coerced into performing the service or labor, or if the person willingly begins to perform the service or labor but later attempts to withdraw from performance and is compelled to continue performing. The payment of a wage or salary shall not be determinative on the question of whether or not a person was compelled to perform a service or labor against his or her will.||II. A person shall be guilty of a class A felony if such person maintains or makes available an individual under 18 years of age for the purpose of engaging the individual in a commercial sex act or sexually-explicit performance for the benefit of another. A person convicted under this paragraph shall be sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than 7 years and a maximum term of not more than 30 years. Knowledge of the individual's actual age shall not be required as an element of this offense. Consent of the individual shall not constitute a defense to a charge under this paragraph.||III. It is a class A felony to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or otherwise make available a person, knowing or believing it likely that the person will be subjected to trafficking as defined in paragraph I or II. Notwithstanding RSA 651:2, a person convicted of an offense under this paragraph involving a victim under the age of 18 shall be subject to a minimum term of not less than 7 years and a maximum term of not more than 30 years, if the offender knew or believed it likely that the victim would be involved in a commercial sex act or sexually-explicit performance.||III-a. (a) A person is guilty of a class B felony if the person pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay to engage in sexual contact, as defined in RSA 632-A:1 or sexual penetration, as defined in RSA 632-A:1, V with a person under the age of 18, or to observe a sexually explicit performance involving a person under the age of 18. The payment or offer or agreement to pay may be made to the person under the age of 18 or a third party. Neither the actor's lack of knowledge of the other person's age nor consent of the other person shall constitute a defense to a charge under this paragraph.||(b) A person is guilty of a class A felony if the person pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay to engage in sexual contact, as defined in RSA 632-A:1 or sexual penetration, as defined in RSA 632-A:1, V with a person who is under the age of 16. The payment or offer or agreement to pay may be made to the person who is under the age of 16 or a third party. Neither the actor's lack of knowledge of the other person's age nor consent of the other person shall constitute a defense to a charge under this paragraph.||IV. Evidence of a trafficking victim's personal sexual history, history of commercial sexual activity, or reputation or opinion evidence regarding the victim's past sexual behavior shall not be admissible at trial unless the evidence is:||(a) Admitted pursuant to rule 412 of the New Hampshire rules of evidence; or||(b) Offered by the prosecution to prove a pattern of trafficking by the defendant.||V. In any investigation or prosecution for an offense under this section, the identity of the victim and the victim's family, and images of the victim and the victim's family, shall be confidential except to the extent disclosure is necessary for the purpose of investigation, prosecution, or provision of services and benefits to the victim and the victim's family, or if disclosure is required by a court order.||VI. (a) A victim under this section who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense shall not be subject to juvenile delinquency proceeding under RSA 169-B, or prosecuted for conduct chargeable as indecent exposure and lewdness under RSA 645:1, prostitution under RSA 645:2, or any other misdemeanor or class B felony, where the conduct was committed as a direct result of being trafficked, provided that the conduct chargeable did not involve an act of violence as defined in RSA 625:9, VII.||(b) An individual convicted, or adjudicated as delinquent, for the commission of an offense set forth in subparagraph (a) which was committed as a direct result of being a victim of human trafficking may file a motion with the circuit court, district division, to vacate the conviction or adjudication. A copy of the motion shall be provided to the agency that prosecuted the offense. After a hearing, the court may grant the request upon a finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that the defendant's participation in the offense was a direct result of being trafficked.||(c) The defendant shall not be required to provide any official documentation indicating that he or she was a victim of trafficking, but such documentation, if provided, shall create the presumption that the defendant's participation in the offense was a direct result of being a victim of trafficking.|||Source. 2009, 211:1. 2014, 257:2, eff. Oct. 23, 2014. 2016, 215:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017. 2017, 90:3, eff. Jan. 1, 2018. 2019, 151:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2020. 2021, 165:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2022.|