The Trafficking of Persons crime in the state of Texas gives police the right to arrest you if they believe you participate in any of a wide variety of activities related to human trafficking.
TRAFFICKING OF PERSONS ATTORNEY FAQs
Trafficking refers to the movement of people, and human trafficking refers to moving people for illicit purposes such as forced labor or participation in the sex trade. Learn more detailed information about the Trafficking of Persons offense below.
Have you been charged with Trafficking of Persons? Book a consultation to discuss legal representation with criminal defense attorney Paul Saputo today.
The Trafficking of Persons offense was amended in the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019 and in the 88th Texas Legislature in 2023. Learn more about the 2019 changes below
There is also a related offense called Continuous Trafficking of Persons.
What is the current Texas law about Trafficking of Persons?
The Trafficking of Persons offense is described in Section 20A.02 of the Texas Penal Code.
Effective in 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature added Online Promotion of Prostitution and Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution to the list of offenses in which trafficking people is prohibited. [1] Effective in 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature added Solicitation of Prostitution to that list.[2]
In 2023, the 88th Texas Legislature included “disabled individuals” to subsections (5), (7) and (8) of Section 20A.02, making it illegal to traffic disabled individuals in the instances it would also be illegal to traffic children.[3]
Section 20A.02 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended – with bracketed language indicating the 2019 amendments – is below:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:
(1) traffics another person with the intent that the trafficked person engage in forced labor or services;
(2) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (1), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services;
(3) traffics another person and, through force, fraud, or coercion, causes the trafficked person to engage in conduct prohibited by:
(A) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
(B) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
[(B-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of Prostitution)]
(C) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution);
[(C-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution); or]
(D) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
(4) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (3) or engages in sexual conduct with a person trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (3);
(5) traffics a child or disabled individual with the intent that the trafficked child or disabled individual engage in forced labor or services;
(6) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (5), including by receiving labor or services the person knows are forced labor or services;
(7) traffics a child or disabled individual and by any means causes the trafficked child or disabled individual to engage in, or become the victim of, conduct prohibited by:
(A) Section 21.02 (Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Children);
(B) Section 21.11 (Indecency with a Child);
(C) Section 22.011 (Sexual Assault);
(D) Section 22.021 (Aggravated Sexual Assault);
(E) Section 43.02 (Prostitution);
(E-1) Section 43.021 (Solicitation of Prostitution);
(F) Section 43.03 (Promotion of Prostitution);
[(F-1) Section 43.031 (Online Promotion of Prostitution);]
(G) Section 43.04 (Aggravated Promotion of Prostitution);
[(G-1) Section 43.041 (Aggravated Online Promotion of Prostitution);]
(H) Section 43.05 (Compelling Prostitution);
(I) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child);
(J) Section 43.251 (Employment Harmful to Children); or
(K) Section 43.26 (Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography); or
(8) receives a benefit from participating in a venture that involves an activity described by Subdivision (7) or engages in sexual conduct with a child or disabled individual trafficked in the manner described in Subdivision (7).
Coercion was defined by the 85th Texas Legislature in 2017, and codified in Section 20A.01.[4] This definition of coercion was replaced with a new one by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019,[5] and then finally replaced again by the 87th Legislature as follows:[6]
(1-a) “Coercion” as defined by Section 1.07 includes:
(A) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the person’s actual or purported:
(i) government records; or
(ii) identifying information or documents;
(B) causing a trafficked person, without the person’s consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, to a degree that impairs the person’s ability to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or services; or
C) withholding alcohol or a controlled substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001, Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of or resist engaging in any conduct, including performing or providing labor or services.
How can I be charged with Trafficking of Persons?
You can be charged with Trafficking of Persons if the state’s attorneys believe that each of the elements of any of subsections (1)-(8) of 20A.02(a), as described in the section above, have been met.
What is the punishment for Trafficking of Persons?
A conviction for Trafficking of Persons is punished by default as a felony of the second degree,[7] with a maximum possible fine under Texas state law of up to $10,000 and prison time of up to 20 years.
However, a conviction be enhanced to a first degree felony if “(1) the applicable conduct constitutes an offense under Subsection (a)(5), (6), (7), or (8), regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the child at the time the actor commits the offense;” or “(2) the commission of the offense results in serious bodily injury to or the death of the person who is trafficked.” [8]
As of 2017, the offense can also be enhanced to a first degree felony if the commission of the offense results in the death of an unborn child of the person who is trafficked.[9]
The 88th Legislature passed two laws in 2023 that create additional enhancements.
The first new enhancement for 2023 applies when “the actor: (A) used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the offense; (B) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly impeded the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the trafficked person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth; or (C) recruited, enticed, or obtained the trafficked person from a shelter or facility operating as a residential treatment center that serves runaway youth, foster children, the homeless, or persons subjected to human trafficking, domestic violence, or sexual assault.” [10]
The second new enhancement for 2023 is a additional supermax penalty for Trafficking of Persons offenses that occurred near a school or other youth facility, requiring a minimum prison sentence of 25 years.[11]
Do convictions for Trafficking of Persons require restration as a sex offender?
Trafficking of Persons is an offense that requires registration as a sex offender in Texas under certain conditions – only convictions based on subsections (a)(3), (4), (7), or (8) require registration.[12]
Legal References:
^1. SB 20, 86th Texas Legislature, Section 3.11, effective September 1, 2019^2. HB 1540, 87th Texas Legislature, Section 22, effective September 1, 2021^3. SB 1527, 88th Texas Legislature, Sections 2.01 and 2.02, effective September 1, 2023^4. HB 2529, 85th Legislature (RS), Section 1, effective September 1, 2017^5. The 86th Texas Legislature changed the definition of coercion for offenses occurring on or after September 1, 2019 in SB 1802, 86th Texas Legislature, Section 2, effective September 1, 2019. The 2019 definition was as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), “coercion” as defined by Section 1.07 includes:
(1) destroying, concealing, confiscating, or withholding from a trafficked person, or threatening to destroy, conceal, confiscate, or withhold from a trafficked person, the person’s actual or purported:
(A) government records; or
(B) identifying information or documents;
(2) causing a trafficked person, without the person’s consent, to become intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, to a degree that impairs the person’s ability to appraise the nature of the prohibited conduct or to resist engaging in that conduct; or
(3) withholding alcohol or a controlled substance to a degree that impairs the ability of a trafficked person with a chemical dependency, as defined by Section 462.001, Health and Safety Code, to appraise the nature of the prohibited conduct or to resist engaging in that conduct.
^6. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(a-1), as enacted by by HB 1540, 87th Legislature (RS), Sections 21 & 62, effective September 1, 2021^7. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(b)^8. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(b)(1)&(2)^9. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(b)(3), enacted by HB 2552, 85th Texas Legislature (RS), Section 15^10. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(b)(4), enacted by HB 1527, 88th Texas Legislature (RS), Section 2.02^11. Texas Penal Code §20A.02(b-1), enacted by HB 3554, 88th Texas Legislature (RS), Section 1^12 Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001(5)(K)
