Should sex traffickers be subject to sexually violent predator laws?

Author: Greer, Benjamin Thomas; Cotulla, Grace & Seddighzadeh, Halleh

Abstract: Protecting society from sex offenders has presented a challenge for state legislatures. Recent decades have seen a significant increase in sexually motivated crimes, especially sex trafficking. Effectively combatting sexual exploitation demands a range of legal strategies. As of 2012, 20 states have passed sexually violent predators (SVP) legislation. Human traffickers may exhibit the same deplorable characteristics as SVPs and should be subject to civil commitments. Traffickers are extremely skilled at exploiting their victim’s psychological pressure-points; knowing which cultural or personal experiences they can prey upon to extract compliance. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the overlapping predatory nature of sex traffickers and SVPs; the creation and purpose of sexual predator civil commitment statutes; and to dissect two cases which could give grounds for civil commitment. The design methodology of this study was through legal research and analysis. Repeated human sex traffickers may suffer from an underlying mental illness which would render them a continued danger to society when released from jail. They should be evaluated and civility committed if medically appropriate. A potential increase in civil commits is a practical implication of this study. A social implication is to keep society safe from repeat sexual predators. The authors have vast experience in the field of human trafficking and this topic will be a pioneering initial discussion.

Keywords:  sexual exploitation, criminal law, criminal psychology, human sex trafficking, sexually violent predator