§ 3012 — Involuntary servitude

(a) Offense defined.--A person commits a felony of the first degree if the person knowingly, through any of the means described in subsection (b), subjects an individual to labor servitude or sexual servitude, except where the conduct is permissible under Federal or State law other than this chapter.

(b) Means of subjecting an individual to involuntary servitude.--A person may subject an individual to involuntary servitude through any of the following means:

(1) Causing or threatening to cause serious harm to any individual.

(2) Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain another individual.

(3) Kidnapping or attempting to kidnap any individual.

(4) Abusing or threatening to abuse the legal process.

(5) Taking or retaining the individual's personal property or real property as a means of coercion.

(6) Engaging in unlawful conduct with respect to documents, as defined in section 3014 (relating to unlawful conduct regarding documents).

(7) Extortion.

(8) Fraud.

(9) Criminal coercion, as defined in section 2906 (relating to criminal coercion).

(10) Duress, through the use of or threat to use unlawful force against the person or another.

(11) Debt coercion.

(12) Facilitating or controlling the individual's access to a controlled substance.

(13) Using any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause the individual to believe that, if the individual does not perform the labor, services, acts or performances, that individual or another individual will suffer serious harm or physical restraint.

Legislative History

Cross References.Section 3012 is referred to in sections 3001, 3018, 3021, 3064, 5708, 9158 of this title; section 6704 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); sections 5551, 5552, 9720.2, 9799.14 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); section 6139 of Title 61 (Prisons and Parole).