The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1081 on human trafficking authored by Rep. McNamara.The billprovides:
- that confidential reports and other material involving a report or investigation of child abuse and neglect shall be made available to a staff member of a child advocacy center
- Defines “child advocacy center”
- modifies the definition of “protected person” for purposes of the admission of a statement or videotape of an individual who is less than 14 years of age at the time of the offense but less than 18 years of age at the time of trial
- removes the requirement that money paid for a human trafficking victim or for an act performed by a human trafficking victim be paid to a third party
- increases the penalty if the human trafficking victim is less than 18 years of age to a Level 4 felony
- specifies that: (1) consent by the human trafficking victim; or (2) a belief that the human trafficking victim was at least 18 years of age; is not a defense to a prosecution
- requires law enforcement agencies to report human trafficking investigations to the attorney general within 30 days after an investigation begins
The bill was amended by consent to remove sections referencing the child advocacy center. The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 10-0.
Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/house/1081