News
The Next Steps in the Fight Against Sex Trafficking
Maurice Classen is running for Seattle City Council Position 1, the seat currently occupied by Jean Godden. This morning, he rolled out a three-part proposal aimed at cracking down on the sex trafficking of children in Seattle. In this PubliCola guest op/ed, Classen explains his approach to eradicating child sex trafficking.
Mayor Mike McGinn’s recent efforts to combat child sex trafficking have highlighted the complicated challenges facing Seattle in eradicating this heinous crime. I applaud the mayor's call for the Seattle Weekly to crack down on child sex trafficking through its online classifieds, and city council member Tim Burgess's consistent focus on this issue over the past year. No publication should be facilitating the exploitation of children. Like Craigslist before it, the Weekly should stop hiding behind the argument that these ads will simply migrate elsewhere if the paper cracks down on them. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that our own actions do not facilitate this kind of crime.
However, Seattle’s elected officials can do more than just condemn these publications. A comprehensive solution to sex trafficking requires a multi-faceted approach. Seattle’s elected leaders need to ensure that sex trafficking victims have the proper resources so they can escape the cycle of violence and sexual exploitation.
If elected, I will fight juvenile prostitution on three additional fronts. First, we should make sure that current victim service programs are fully funded. Second, we need to pass legislation to ensure that businesses aren’t turning a blind eye toward the problem. Third, we must push to enforce our Permitting Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor statute (RCW 9.68A.103) and crack down on hotels that knowingly allow juvenile prostitution.
Several years ago, Washington became the first state in the country to pass a law criminalizing human trafficking. The law made it a serious felony to recruit, harbor, transport or obtain any person for labor or services (including sex trafficking or forced labor) through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.
Last year, two Seattle legislators, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) and Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) helped pass a number of critical changes to the law. Among these reforms was Sen. Kohl-Welles’s bill authorizing local governments to use affordable housing funds to provide assistance to human trafficking victims and their families. The Seattle City Council should make sure that we fully fund victim services, especially housing, for this vulnerable population. Study after study has shown that victims are less likely to return to sex trafficking if they are kept out of jails and given access to a wide range of services, including housing, counseling, and educational opportunities.
The money is the easy part; we must also do what we can to increase the penalties for businesses that turn a blind eye toward child sex trafficking on their property. As a prosecutor in King County, I know what it’s like to encounter businesses that do nothing to protect victims of violent crime. Every month we see examples of businesses, especially hotels, that not only allow juvenile prostitution but also profit from it. Just last Friday, a man was charged for running a prostitution ring where he demanded that girls stay in certain hotels and forbade them to leave .
Several years ago, the Seattle City Council passed a nuisance law that penalizes businesses that knowingly or negligently allow a range of criminal behavior (including assault, drug trafficking, and weapons trafficking) to take place on their premises. Businesses aren’t penalized until they are found to have allowed this activity three times in 60 days or seven times in a year.
When it comes to child sex trafficking, the city should hold itself to a higher standard. I am proposing that we create a “three strikes, you’re out” law for hotels that allow trafficking or acts of juvenile prostitution on their premises. If three acts of juvenile prostitution occur during the course of five years at a business, that business should lose its license to do business in the city. Period. Recognizing, however, that some businesses will make an effort to prevent these crimes, I would propose that there also be a provision that allows businesses to avoid the loss of a license if they assist law enforcement in preventing sex trafficking on their premises.
Further, we must use Washington State’s "Permitting Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor" law (RCW 9.68A.103) to criminally prosecute business owners who knowingly allow juvenile prostitution. The statute states that “a person is guilty of permitting commercial sexual abuse of a minor if, having possession or control of premises which he or she knows are being used for the purpose of commercial sexual abuse of a minor, he or she fails without lawful excuse to make reasonable effort to halt or abate such use and to make a reasonable effort to notify law enforcement of such use.”
In other words, if you're a hotel owner and you fail to notify law enforcement that a juvenile is engaged in prostitution at your establishment, you can be held criminally liable. Active enforcement of this statute will take the next step in holding questionable businesses accountable.
Lastly, we should recognize that this is a regional problem and partner with other agencies and governments across the region to stop these crimes from occurring. Local law enforcement has garnered national recognition for its leadership on the issue of child sex trafficking, but I believe that we can help them do more. I want to make sure they have the resources to redouble their efforts and eliminate this crime from our city. Seattle deserves nothing less from its elected leaders.
Mayor Mike McGinn’s recent efforts to combat child sex trafficking have highlighted the complicated challenges facing Seattle in eradicating this heinous crime. I applaud the mayor's call for the Seattle Weekly to crack down on child sex trafficking through its online classifieds, and city council member Tim Burgess's consistent focus on this issue over the past year. No publication should be facilitating the exploitation of children. Like Craigslist before it, the Weekly should stop hiding behind the argument that these ads will simply migrate elsewhere if the paper cracks down on them. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure that our own actions do not facilitate this kind of crime.
However, Seattle’s elected officials can do more than just condemn these publications. A comprehensive solution to sex trafficking requires a multi-faceted approach. Seattle’s elected leaders need to ensure that sex trafficking victims have the proper resources so they can escape the cycle of violence and sexual exploitation.
If elected, I will fight juvenile prostitution on three additional fronts. First, we should make sure that current victim service programs are fully funded. Second, we need to pass legislation to ensure that businesses aren’t turning a blind eye toward the problem. Third, we must push to enforce our Permitting Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor statute (RCW 9.68A.103) and crack down on hotels that knowingly allow juvenile prostitution.
Several years ago, Washington became the first state in the country to pass a law criminalizing human trafficking. The law made it a serious felony to recruit, harbor, transport or obtain any person for labor or services (including sex trafficking or forced labor) through the use of force, fraud, or coercion.
Last year, two Seattle legislators, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) and Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-36) helped pass a number of critical changes to the law. Among these reforms was Sen. Kohl-Welles’s bill authorizing local governments to use affordable housing funds to provide assistance to human trafficking victims and their families. The Seattle City Council should make sure that we fully fund victim services, especially housing, for this vulnerable population. Study after study has shown that victims are less likely to return to sex trafficking if they are kept out of jails and given access to a wide range of services, including housing, counseling, and educational opportunities.
The money is the easy part; we must also do what we can to increase the penalties for businesses that turn a blind eye toward child sex trafficking on their property. As a prosecutor in King County, I know what it’s like to encounter businesses that do nothing to protect victims of violent crime. Every month we see examples of businesses, especially hotels, that not only allow juvenile prostitution but also profit from it. Just last Friday, a man was charged for running a prostitution ring where he demanded that girls stay in certain hotels and forbade them to leave .
Several years ago, the Seattle City Council passed a nuisance law that penalizes businesses that knowingly or negligently allow a range of criminal behavior (including assault, drug trafficking, and weapons trafficking) to take place on their premises. Businesses aren’t penalized until they are found to have allowed this activity three times in 60 days or seven times in a year.
When it comes to child sex trafficking, the city should hold itself to a higher standard. I am proposing that we create a “three strikes, you’re out” law for hotels that allow trafficking or acts of juvenile prostitution on their premises. If three acts of juvenile prostitution occur during the course of five years at a business, that business should lose its license to do business in the city. Period. Recognizing, however, that some businesses will make an effort to prevent these crimes, I would propose that there also be a provision that allows businesses to avoid the loss of a license if they assist law enforcement in preventing sex trafficking on their premises.
Further, we must use Washington State’s "Permitting Commercial Sexual Abuse of a Minor" law (RCW 9.68A.103) to criminally prosecute business owners who knowingly allow juvenile prostitution. The statute states that “a person is guilty of permitting commercial sexual abuse of a minor if, having possession or control of premises which he or she knows are being used for the purpose of commercial sexual abuse of a minor, he or she fails without lawful excuse to make reasonable effort to halt or abate such use and to make a reasonable effort to notify law enforcement of such use.”
In other words, if you're a hotel owner and you fail to notify law enforcement that a juvenile is engaged in prostitution at your establishment, you can be held criminally liable. Active enforcement of this statute will take the next step in holding questionable businesses accountable.
Lastly, we should recognize that this is a regional problem and partner with other agencies and governments across the region to stop these crimes from occurring. Local law enforcement has garnered national recognition for its leadership on the issue of child sex trafficking, but I believe that we can help them do more. I want to make sure they have the resources to redouble their efforts and eliminate this crime from our city. Seattle deserves nothing less from its elected leaders.
