Virginia lawmakers say while they ARE crafting more laws to nab sex traffickers, the perpetrators they label as "evil" are getting more aggressive and elusive—which is why it's time to create one standalone statute to be able to prosecute the traffickers.
Sex trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the nation and is more lucrative than the drug trade. Those behind it may abduct or force victims into the industry—but some are easily lured into it. The median age of the victims is 13. Delegate Rob Bell calls this "evil," but because there's no consistent state law to prosecute the evildoers, they continue to set up shop here.
“It’s happening right here, it’s a rapidly growing trade, and it’s big money. Virginia’s laws, which were largely crafted decades ago to deal with what was then prostitution and how prostitution was handled, need these changes.”
Those revisions would make the act of introducing minors into sex trafficking a class 2 felony. Police and victims-advocate groups say it codifies state law to make charges stick and enable more arrests.
