Human Trafficking

Under Florida Statute 787.06, the crime of human trafficking is committed when the offender knowingly engages in or benefits from the transporting or using of another person for exploitation by physical labor, special services, or sexual activity. In simpler words, or as we colloquially say, human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery. According to the Human Trafficking Hotline, Florida is one out of the three worst states that are involved with human trafficking. Reports from the National Human Trafficking Center tells that Jacksonville ranked 48 out of 100 cities when comparing recent human trafficking reports. If you have committed or been involved with human trafficking in Florida you can be sentenced to serious prison time depending on the facts. Call Pallegar Law, P.A. (941)-893-5816 to speak with our Tampa criminal defense attorney.

In Florida, the prison sentence for the crime of human trafficking varies depending on the specifics of the case. Human trafficking under Florida State law is punishable of a prison sentence up to five years, but if the victim is under 18 and is considered a minor, then the prison sentence can be up to eight years. In major human trafficking cases, the offender can be sentenced anywhere from 10 years to life in state prison. If you are in danger of going to prison due to your human trafficking charges, call Pallegar Law, P.A. (941)-893-5816 to speak with our highly experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa Bay.

Human trafficking can happen in several different forms of exploitation; sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, forced marriage, forced criminality, organ harvesting. The most popular forms of exploitation in the United States are both labor and sexual exploitation. Labor exploitation is when someone is forced to work against his or her consent. This is common in the service industry. Labor trafficking is common with undocumented workers, especially women. A report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2017 reported out of the 24.9 millions of people who had become a part of human trafficking, 16 million of those people were exploited for their labor. Women are commonly trafficked more then men, out of the 16 million who are being trafficked, 15.4 million of those people were women and girls. If you are charged with trafficking, we may be able to help call us at (941)-893-5816 to talk with our Tampa Criminal Defense lawyer.

According to another report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), in 2014 human traffickers were able to earn a profit as high as $150 billion a year. The same report from (ILO) states that the highest paying form of human trafficking was commercial sex exploitation at roughly $99 billion a year, the second-highest paying form of human trafficking is labor exploitation; $34 billion a year in construction and manufacturing settings, $9 billion a year in agricultural settings, and lastly $8 billion a year by labor trafficking in private households. If you have been charged with a crime, call Pallegar Law, P.A. for a free consultation to speak with our Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney.