Denver District Attorney Beth McCann and the Director of the Denver DA’s Office Human Trafficking Unit, testified in support of Senate Bill 24-035, according to a press release.
SB24-035 is sponsored by Republican Rep. Ty Winter, Democratic Sen. Rhonda Fields and Republican Sen. Byron Pelton.
The bill adds human trafficking of an adult or a minor for the purpose of involuntary servitude and sexual servitude to the list of violent crimes subject to enhanced sentencing. The bill makes the statute of limitations for human trafficking 20 years but doesn’t change the unlimited statute of limitations for for sexual servitude of a minor.
“Sex trafficking is a planned and predatory crime in which perpetrators prey on the vulnerable, and we must do everything we can to provide support and justice for these survivors. Labor trafficking is often overlooked and underreported but it is also a predatory crime,” said McCann in the press release. “I applaud Senators Pelton and Fields and Representative Winter for initiating this bill. The increased statute of limitations provides survivors time to heal and, hopefully, trust the system enough to come forward and report the trafficker. The sentence enhancer will ensure that perpetrators are held accountable in a meaningful way.”
The bill went to the Senate Judiciary Committee and was referred, as amended, to the Senate Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a vote of 4 to 1.