A Maryland bill to protect child sex-trafficking victims died at the 11th hour
It was 11:29 p.m. and Rodriguez, a force behind the measure for years who runs a nonprofit group that works with Baltimore-area child sex-trafficking victims, thought she and others would soon be celebrating.
Smith said the bill was amended in conference committee to create a “safe harbor” for prostitution, preventing prosecutors from charging a sex-trafficking victim with that crime. The committee struck a compromise between the Senate, which added an “affirmative defense” to the bill, and the House, which sought to shield a sex-trafficking victim from prostitution and other nonviolent charges that result from being trafficked.
“That doesn’t speak well for us and our posture in our advocacy in helping victims escape their situation and thrive,” she said.It ran into trouble on Friday, during a voting session in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Smith raised a hypothetical situation about someone who is trafficked getting arrested.
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