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WISCONSIN LEGISLATION
WI STAT § 940.302
Human trafficking.
(1) In this section:
(a) “Commercial sex act" means any of the following for which anything of value is given to, promised, or received, directly or indirectly, by any person:
1. Sexual contact.
2. Sexual intercourse.
3. Except as provided in sub. (2) (c), any of the following:
a. Sexually explicit performance.
b. Any other conduct done for the purpose of sexual humiliation, degradation, arousal, or gratification.
(b) “Debt bondage" means the condition of a debtor arising from the debtor's pledge of services as a security for debt if the reasonable value of those services is not applied toward repaying the debt or if the length and nature of the services are not defined.
(c) “Services" means activities performed by one individual at the request, under the supervision, or for the benefit of another person.
(d) “Trafficking" means recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining, or attempting to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain, an individual.
(2)
(a) Except as provided in s. 948.051, whoever knowingly engages in trafficking is guilty of a Class D felony if all of the following apply:
1. One of the following applies:
a. The trafficking is for the purposes of labor or services.
b. The trafficking is for the purposes of a commercial sex act.
2. The trafficking is done by any of the following:
a. Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to any individual.
b. Causing or threatening to cause financial harm to any individual.
c. Restraining or threatening to restrain any individual.
d. Violating or threatening to violate a law.
e. Destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing, or threatening to destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess, any actual or purported passport or any other actual or purported official identification document of any individual.
f. Extortion.
g. Fraud or deception.
h. Debt bondage.
i. Controlling or threatening to control any individual's access to an addictive controlled substance.
j. Using any scheme, pattern, or other means to directly or indirectly coerce, threaten, or intimidate any individual.
k. Using or threatening to use force or violence on any individual.
L. Causing or threatening to cause any individual to do any act against the individual's will or without the individual's consent.
(b) Whoever benefits in any manner from a violation of par. (a) is guilty of a Class D felony if the person knows or reasonably should have known that the benefits come from or are derived from an act or scheme described in par. (a).
(c) Whoever knowingly receives compensation from the earnings of debt bondage, a prostitute, or a commercial sex act, as described in sub. (1) (a) 1. and 2., is guilty of a Class F felony.
(3) Any person who incurs an injury or death as a result of a violation of sub. (2) may bring a civil action against the person who committed the violation. In addition to actual damages, the court may award punitive damages to the injured party, not to exceed treble the amount of actual damages incurred, and reasonable attorney fees.
History: 2007 a. 116; 2013 a. 362 ss. 27 to 33, 37.
Halting Modern Slavery in the Midwest: The Potential of Wisconsin Act 116 to Improve the State and Federal Response to Human Trafficking. Ozalp. 2009 WLR 1391.
A Path to Protection: Collateral Crime Vacatur for Wisconsin's Victims of Sex Trafficking. Mullins. 2019 WLR 1551.
Under the Radar: Human Trafficking in Wisconsin. Monaco-Wilcox & Mueller. Wis. Law. Oct. 2017.
Source: WI Stat § 940.302 (2022)