Protect not punish

District Attorneys group says aim is to protect, not punish, victims of sex trade

Prosecutors take new approach to fighting human trafficking, sex trade.

Prosecutors in the Capital Region are taking a new approach to fighting human trafficking and the sex trade.

In one announcement Friday, the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York voted nearly unanimously to support a state law to repeal the crime of loitering for the purposes of prostitution.

And in an unrelated development, the Capital Region’s top federal prosecutor launched a multi-agency law enforcement task to fight human trafficking, which she described as modern day slavery.

DAASNY endorsed legislation sponsored by state Sen. Brady Hoylman, D-manhattan, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-scarsdale, to repeal a law the association said contains vague wording and disproportionately is used against women, transgendered people and people of color.

“As prosecutors, our objective is to never penalize people who are already being victimized or commercially exploited sexually,” DAASNY said in a statement. “Rather, our efforts are more meaningfully spent connecting people to services, support, and tools that will help them to safely exit the destructive sex trade industry. The time has come to eliminate this discriminatory and counterproductive law from the penal code.”

Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who voted for the re

peal, said it would “allow efforts to be spent connecting people to services, support and tools that will help them to safely leave commercial sex work, instead of continuing to criminalize and disproportionately penalize those who may need the most help.”

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney, who also voted to repeal the loitering law, told the Times Union it would not impact laws for prostitution or patronizing a prostitute.

Meanwhile, Soares, Carney and their fellow district attorneys in Rensselaer and Saratoga were among the nearly 20 law enforcement agencies supporting an initiative launched by Acting U.S. Attorney Antoinette Bacon, the top prosecutor in the 32-county Northern District of New York.

“Ruthless traffickers use force, lies, threats, coercion, and sometimes even drugs, to force victims into a life of commercial sex or tedious labor,” Bacon said in a statement. “Victims are trapped — and they need our help to reclaim their freedom.”

Bacon’s task force includes members of the Albany field office of the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Drug Enforcement Administration; State Police; Albany, Colonie, Rotterdam, Schenectady and Troy police departments; sheriff’s offices in Albany, Schenectady, Rensselaer and Ulster counties and Rensselaer County probation department.