Laws show compassion for victims of traff icking

OKLAHOMA has a reputation for being tough on crime. This doesn’t mean state lawmakers won’t reconsider policies, especially when existing laws unintentionally punish crime victims.

Three measures signed into law this year show legislators are rethinking past approaches to criminal activity tied to human trafficking. House Bill 1058, by Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, allows the victims of human trafficking to have prostitution-related offenses expunged from their criminal records.

House Bill 1067, by Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, requires law enforcement officials to notify the Department of Human Services whenever a child victim of human trafficking is located.

The law requires police to work jointly with DHS personnel investigating those crimes. It also requires that criminal charges be dismissed against any child victim of human trafficking. Perhaps most importantly, HB 1067 requires that in cases of teenagers facing prostitution charges, “there shall be a presumption that the actor was coerced into committing such offense by another person in violation” of human trafficking laws.

House Bill 1508, by Rep. Pam Peterson, R-Tulsa, clarifies that the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control has subpoena powers for crimes relating to human trafficking. All three laws passed with virtually unanimous support. Out of 149 legislators in the Legislature, only one “no” vote was cast against both HB 1058 and HB 1067. HB 1508 passed without opposition.

Taken individually, each of these bills is an improvement over current law. Taken as a whole, they represent meaningful progress in the fight against human trafficking and the effort to support victims. Because it impedes their ability to apply for a job, rent an apartment or obtain credit, a prostitution conviction creates enormous obstacles for victims of human trafficking seeking to re-enter society. By allowing victims to have their criminal records wiped clean, Oklahoma lawmakers are giving those individuals the chance to begin their lives anew.

Oklahoma isn’t alone in taking this step. New York passed a similar law in 2010 that has since become a national model. Nevada, Illinois, Vermont, Maryland, Hawaii, New Jersey and Florida have also enacted similar laws.

Tragedy partially incentivized these legal changes. The torture and dismemberment of 19-year-old Carina Saunders in Bethany brought the issue of human trafficking to the forefront of public consciousness. Because Oklahoma is at the crossroads of three interstate highways, the state is a prime destination for human traffickers. Ten percent of juveniles recovered during a nationwide child sex-trafficking investigation last year were in Oklahoma City. In 2011, Oklahoma City police made 150 prostitution-related contacts; 127 were trafficking based. Law enforcement officials believe the average age of entry into prostitution is 12 to 14, and that girls are subjected to up to 20 sexual contacts per day.

The harsh reality of human trafficking was also brought home in September when Sand Springs native Jeannetta McCrery told lawmakers how she was kidnapped at age 11 and forced into prostitution. She described being raped multiple times every day and stabbed 36 times with ice picks after a failed escape attempt. “I can’t tell you how hard ... it is to tell someone who believes that you did not choose to be a prostitute,” McCrery said.

As the bills approved this year demonstrate, lawmakers believed her — and responded with appropriate compassion for McCrery and other victims of these horrendous crimes.