Kid-sex bill passes
Legislature finally moves on trafficking
With a week to go until the close of the legislative session, state lawmakers on Wednesday finally passed a bill to toughen notoriously weak childsex-trafficking laws.
The revised rules would mean a felony sex-trafficking charge for anyone over 21 who intentionally promotes or profits from the prostitution of minors. If convicted, they’d face up to 25 years behind bars.
Currently, prosecutors have to prove minors were forced or coerced into the sex trade to secure a trafficking conviction — so pimps who sell kids for sex can get off with a wrist slap if their young victims can’t or won’t testify.
After a Post exposé in April on how lax laws have allowed those creeps to walk free, Gov. Cuomo came out in favor of reform — and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (DBronx) agreed to sit down with the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Westchester), to hash out a compromise.
Both lawmakers hailed the passage Wednesday.
“Human trafficking is a scourge that continues to plague our communities. Today’s legislation will help make sure that those who exploit children in this heinous way are brought to justice,” Heastie said.
Paulin added, “With these bills, we’ll take the final step to help these young girls and boys escape their lives of abuse and exploitation at the hands of their predatory traffickers.”
The legislation had been languishing in an Assembly committee for years over concerns that tougher rules could end up punishing victims who are forced to recruit more kids for pimps — or innocent parties like landlords who inadvertently rent to traffickers. Lawmakers now believe that the language of the bill addresses those concerns.
The state Senate, which in the past has passed versions of the bill, quickly followed up and approved the legislation.
It now lands on Gov. Cuomo’s desk. He ad introduced his own bill, which is close to the new one.
“We support new protections that will bring human traffickers to justice and protect victims and will be reviewing this bill,” said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi.