§ 13A-6-152 — Human Trafficking in the First Degree

(a) A person commits the crime of human trafficking in the first degree if:
(1) He or she knowingly subjects another person to labor servitude or sexual servitude;
(2) He or she knowingly obtains, recruits, entices, solicits, induces, threatens, isolates, harbors, holds, restrains, transports, provides, or maintains any minor for the purpose of causing a minor to engage in sexual servitude; or
(3) He or she knowingly gives, or attempts to give, monetary consideration or any other thing of value to engage in any sexual conduct with a minor or an individual he or she believes to be a minor.
(b) For purposes of this section, it is not required that the defendant have knowledge of a minor victim’s age, nor is reasonable mistake of age a defense to liability under this section.
(c) A corporation, or any other legal entity other than an individual, may be prosecuted for human trafficking in the first degree for an act or omission only if an agent of the corporation or entity performs the conduct which is an element of the crime while acting within the scope of his or her office or employment and on behalf of the corporation or entity, and the commission of the crime was either authorized, requested, commanded, performed, or within the scope of the person’s employment on behalf of the corporation or entity or constituted a pattern of conduct that an agent of the corporation or entity knew or should have known was occurring.
(d) Any person who obstructs, or attempts to obstruct, or in any way interferes with or prevents the enforcement of this section shall be guilty of a Class A felony.
(e) Human trafficking in the first degree is a Class A felony. In any prosecution under this section where the defendant is nineteen years old or older and there is a minor trafficking victim, the court shall sentence the defendant to a minimum of life imprisonment.

Legislative History

(Act 2010-705, p. 1708, §3; Act 2018-385, §1; Act 2018-506, §1; Act 2024-87, §2.)