Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
*CEB232* 04/03/2025 11:43:27 AM CEB232
State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 620 3
4
By: Senator Irvin 5
6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO PROVIDE A SAFETY VALVE FOR A MINOR 9
DEFENDANT WHO IS ALSO A VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING; 10
TO AMEND THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2013; TO CREATE 11
AN APPEAL RIGHT FOR A MINOR DEFENDANT WHO IS ALSO A 12
VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 13
14
15
Subtitle 16
TO PROVIDE A SAFETY VALVE AND APPEAL 17
RIGHT FOR A MINOR DEFENDANT WHO IS ALSO 18
A VICTIM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING; AND TO 19
AMEND THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ACT OF 2013. 20
21
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22
23
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 5 -2-210 is amended to read as follows: 24
5-2-210. Human trafficking — Affirmative defense. 25
(a) As used in this section, “victim of trafficking of persons” means 26
a person who has been subjected to trafficking of persons, § 5 -18-103. 27
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for an offense listed 28
under subsection (c) of this section a nonviolent criminal offense if at the 29
time a person engaged in the conduct charged to constitute the offense the 30
person was: 31
(1) A victim of trafficking of persons; and 32
(2) Engaged in the offense as a result of the trafficking of 33
persons. 34
(c) The affirmative defense under this section may be raised only in a 35
prosecution for one (1) or more of the following offenses: a nonviolent 36 SB620
2 04/03/2025 11:43:27 AM CEB232
criminal offense. 1
(1) Forgery, § 5-37-201; 2
(2) Defrauding a prospective adoptive parent, § 5 -37-216; 3
(3) A prostitution offense under § 5 -70-101 et seq.; 4
(4) Obscene performance at a live public show, § 5 -68-305; or 5
(5) A controlled substance offense under § 5 -64-401 et seq. that 6
is not a Class Y felony. 7
8
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code Title 5, Chapter 4, Subchapter 1, is amended 9
to add an additional section to read as follows: 10
5-4-110. Human trafficking — legislative intent — safety valve. 11
(a) The General Assembly intends for this section to ensure that: 12
(1) A minor victim of human trafficking who commits a crime as a 13
direct result of being trafficked is viewed as a victim and provided 14
treatment and services in the juvenile system; and 15
(2) In serious cases where a court deems a sentence in the 16
criminal division necessary, the court’s sentencing decision be informed by 17
the status of the minor as a victim of human trafficking to ensure trauma -18
informed and age-appropriate accountability. 19
(b) This section applies only in cases where a person is convicted of 20
a violent offense and the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that 21
the person: 22
(1) Was seventeen (17) years of age or younger at the time of 23
the offense; 24
(2) Was a victim of trafficking of persons, § 5 -18-103; and 25
(3) Engaged in the offense as a direct result of the trafficking 26
of persons, § 5-18-103. 27
(c) At sentencing the court shall consider the person’s status as a 28
victim of trafficking of persons and may, in the court's discretion: 29
(1) Depart from the mandatory minimum sentence or sentence 30
enhancement; 31
(2) Suspend any portion of an otherwise applicable sentence and 32
order treatment and services be provided as an alternative to the sentence; 33
or 34
(3)(A) Transfer the minor to the jurisdiction of the juvenile 35
division of the circuit court for disposition and enter an extended juvenile 36 SB620
3 04/03/2025 11:43:27 AM CEB232
jurisdiction designation order under § 9 -27-503. 1
(B) A circuit court that enters an extended juvenile 2
jurisdiction designation order shall not impose an adult sentence that 3
extends beyond the juvenile’s twenty -fourth birthday. 4
5
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 5 -18-103(a) and (b), concerning the offense 6
of trafficking of persons, are amended to read as follows: 7
(a) A person commits the offense of trafficking of persons if he or 8
she knowingly: 9
(1) Recruits, harbors, transports, obtains, entices, solicits, 10
isolates, provides, or maintains a person when he or she knows or reasonably 11
should know that the person will be subjected to involuntary servitude; 12
(2) Benefits financially or benefits by receiving anything of 13
value from participation in a venture that he or she knows or reasonably 14
should know is engaged in conduct prohibited under subdivision (a)(1) of this 15
section; 16
(3) Subjects a person to involuntary servitude; 17
(4) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, 18
provides, maintains, or obtains a minor for commercial sexual activity; 19
(5) Sells or offers to sell travel services that he or she knows 20
or reasonably should know include an activity prohibited under subdivisions 21
(a)(1)-(4) of this section; 22
(6) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, 23
provides, maintains, or obtains a pregnant woman for the purpose of causing 24
the pregnant woman to place her unborn child for adoption by: 25
(A) The use of or threatened use of physical force; 26
(B) The physical restraint or threat of physical restraint 27
of a person; 28
(C) Serious physical injury or threat of serious physical 29
injury to a person; 30
(D) Abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process; 31
(E) Any scheme, plan, or pattern that has a purpose to 32
cause the pregnant woman to believe that, if the pregnant woman does not 33
place the unborn child for adoption, a person would suffer serious physical 34
injury or physical restraint; or 35
(F) Means of serious harm or threats of serious harm to a 36 SB620
4 04/03/2025 11:43:27 AM CEB232
person; or 1
(7) Benefits financially or benefits by receiving anything of 2
value from participating in an act described under subdivision (a)(6) of this 3
section; or 4
(8) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, 5
provides, maintains, or obtains a minor for the purpose of causing the minor 6
to join or remain in a criminal organization or engage in a violation of 7
criminal law by: 8
(A) The use or threatened use of physical force; 9
(B) The causing of serious physical harm to another 10
person; 11
(C) The threat of causing serious physical harm to another 12
person; 13
(D) Coercion, duress, or menace; or 14
(F) Any scheme, plan, or pattern that has a purpose to 15
cause a minor to believe that, if the minor does not join or remain in the 16
criminal organization or engage in a violation of criminal law, another 17
person would suffer serious harm . 18
(b) It is not a defense to prosecution under subdivision subdivisions 19
(a)(4) and (a)(8) of this section that the actor: 20
(1) Did not have knowledge of a victim's age; or 21
(2) Mistakenly believed a victim was not a minor. 22
23
SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 9 -27-318, concerning the transfer of a case 24
in the juvenile division of circuit court to the criminal division of circuit 25
court, is amended to add an additional subsection to read as follows: 26
(n) If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the 27
person against whom the juvenile is accused of committing a criminal offense 28
trafficked, raped, or sexually assaulted the juvenile prior to or during the 29
commission of the offense, the circuit court: 30
(1) Shall impose a juvenile disposition; and 31
(2) May enter an extended juvenile jurisdiction designation 32
order under § 9-27-503 but shall not impose an adult sentence that extends 33
beyond the juvenile's twenty -fourth birthday. 34
35
36