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18 Pa.C.S. § 3018

Evidence and defenses to human trafficking

Known as the Crimes Code

The act spans §§ 18-101 to 18-9546 (603 sections).

(June 30, 2021, P.L.179, No.32, eff. 60 days)

(a) General rule.--Evidence of the age of the victim of human trafficking with respect to the age of consent to sex or legal age of marriage shall not constitute a defense in a prosecution for a violation under this chapter, nor shall the evidence preclude a finding of a violation under this chapter.

(1) (Deleted by amendment).

(2) (Deleted by amendment).

(a.1) Evidence of victim's sexual conduct.--The provisions of section 3104 (relating to evidence of victim's sexual conduct) shall apply to prosecutions under this chapter.

(b) Victim's consent to employment contract in labor servitude.--The consent of the victim of human trafficking to an employment contract, notwithstanding if there was not fraud involved in the contract's formation, shall not be a defense to labor trafficking if force or coercion as described in section 3012(b) (relating to involuntary servitude) were involved in the making of the contract.

(c) Victim's age in sexual servitude.--Except as provided in section 3102 (relating to mistake as to age), evidence of a defendant's lack of knowledge of a person's age, or a reasonable mistake of age, is not a defense for a violation of this chapter involving the sexual servitude of a minor.

Official source: Pennsylvania General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Pennsylvania statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.