AG backs law for trafficking victims

Legislation would prohibit them from forced depositions

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said she supports proposed legislation that would protect victims of sex trafficking from being forced to testify against their abusers.

The law would prohibit forced depositions of victims or witnesses of any age, as well as any person with intellectual disabilities, unless “good cause” can be shown to justify it. Depositions are witness interviews conducted by attorneys before a trial.

A Sun Sentinel investigation found that Florida is just one of three states where a victim of sex abuse and trafficking can be deposed without requiring the court’s permission first. Traffickers have used the lax protections to intimidate their victims out of testifying against them and secure plea agreements on reduced charges.

“As attorney general, I work every day to stop human trafficking in our state, and this session I am advocating for legislation that will further protect victims, as well as help our law enforcement partners bring traffickers to justice,” Moody said in a statement Wednesday announcing her support for the bill. “This legislation will shield victims from unnecessarily reliving traumatic experiences, making it easier for them to come forward and help prosecutors secure convictions for their perpetrators.”

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has repeatedly pushed for legislation that would limit depositions of trafficking victims, but each time she was met with opposition from defense attorneys, who believe that deposing victims is essential to their clients’ right to confront their accusers. Fernandez Rundle’s office could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

The newly proposed law, sponsored by Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, and Rep. Taylor Yarkosky, R-Montverde, would apply to any case in which a person is charged with human trafficking, or an attempt, solicitation, or conspiracy to commit human trafficking. It also would apply to a variety of sexual offenses, child abuse, cyberstalking and domestic violence cases.

That decision would be made by the courts, but only if the evidence can not be reasonably obtained another way and the value of the victim’s testimony “outweighs the potential harm to the person to be deposed.”

In making that decision, the courts would consider the victim’s age and maturity, willingness to testify and likelihood of suffering “moderate psychological harm,” among other factors, the bill says.

If passed, the prohibition would take effect Oct. 1.