House passes package boosting human trafficking penalties

In the wake of human trafficking cases in Westmoreland and Butler counties, legislation strengthening existing state protections against the illegal practice recently passed in the state House.

A bill from Rep. Marci Mustello, R-Butler, would increase penalties for anyone knowingly patronizing a victim and anyone connected to trafficking victims.

“Whether we like it or not, human trafficking is happening in our backyards, and we must put a stop to it,” Mustello said.

In November, a Florida man pleaded guilty to operating a string of massage parlors in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida which were fronts for prostitution. In mid-December, a Mt. Pleasant resident and Chinese native pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges in connection with another group of massage parlors in Murrysville, Delmont and Monroeville, which prosecutors said were prostitution fronts. This month, a 28-year-old woman from Tulsa, Okla., was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison following her conviction on charges of transporting a child from Ohio to Pennsylvania in 2018 for sex-trafficking purposes.

“Now, more than ever, our children need protection from predatory criminals who turn the vulnerability and desperation of their victims into big business,” Mustello said.

Below, see video of Mustello discussing the bill’s importance in the House.

The bill was part of a legislative package passed Wednesday aimed at assisting victims and increasing resources to combat trafficking.

Additional trafficking cases have occurred in areas including York, Lancaster, Harrisburg, State College, Erie, Williamsport, Altoona and Allentown.

Mustello said the major highways crossing the state often are utilized by traffickers.

“Being from Butler County, we’ve got two major interstates, 80 and 79, and we see it,” Mustello said. “We need to protect children, which is what my bill does.”

House Bill 2176 passed unanimously, and now heads to the state Senate.

The House also passed Senate Bill 60 by a 183-4 vote on Wednesday. The bill expands the definition of trafficking under the crimes code to match federal law. The expanded definition includes any individual who patronizes or advertises a victim of trafficking. Additionally, the legislation mirrors federal law by expanding the offense for patronizing a victim of trafficking to include any person who should have known or acted with reckless disregard to the fact the individual was a victim of human trafficking.

The bill also doubles the amount of maximum jail time that an individual may serve for trafficking or patronizing a victim of trafficking. What was once a second-degree felony carrying a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison will be a first-degree felony with a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. In addition, those who patronize a victim of sexual trafficking would see an increased fine from $500 to between $1,000 and $30,000. If the victim is a minor at the time of the offense, the fine increases from $5,000 to $100,000.

“Human trafficking represents a violation of an individual’s basic human rights and, unfortunately, this happens way too often in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 60. “As William Wilberforce, who fought slavery in 19th-century Europe said, ‘You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say that you did not know.’”