By Peter Hall | Pennsylvania Capital-Star
The state House Judiciary Committee voted Monday to advance a suite of six bills to improve protection for child victims of human trafficking and provide for the most severe criminal penalty for those who exploit infants.
The votes came about a month after House and Senate lawmakers announced the creation of a bipartisan caucus dedicated to ending human trafficking in the commonwealth. Its members cited troubling statistics and a poor report card from national anti-trafficking groups.
Rep. Donna Scheuren (R-Montgomery) said state law currently contains a gap that limits the severity of charges against people who traffic infants to a first-degree misdemeanor. Scheuren’s House Bill 910 would increase the current penalty to a first-degree felony.
She explained during the meeting that the criminal code includes an enhanced first-degree felony charge for people who engage in human trafficking for forced labor or service if the victim is under 18.
“Infants, of course, are incapable of being forced to engage in labor or service,” Scheuren said, noting the enhanced charge would not presently apply. Her bill would make the felony charge available in cases where the victim is one year old or younger. It contains an exclusion for legal surrogacy or adoption.
“This action would not only solidify Pennsylvania’s commitment to bring down human traffickers,” she said, “But it would also show strong resolve in the mission of our bicameral, bipartisan anti-human trafficking caucus that was newly formed here in Harrisburg last month.”
The bill passed 25-1, with Rep. Chris Rabb (D-Philadelphia) casting the only “no” vote. Chairman Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery) noted the bill had passed during three previous sessions in the House but died in the Senate.
Rabb, a candidate in the tightly contested Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District, said Tuesday in a statement to the Capital-Star that as a descendant of people enslaved under state law, his opposition to human trafficking is unwavering and he believes no child should be bought, sold or traded.
H.B. 910, Rabb said, blurs the line “between organized exploitation and the desperate, often heartbreaking choices made by vulnerable parents, risking felony charges against people who need support, not a prison sentence.”
“We can protect children without criminalizing poverty and desperation, and that’s exactly why I could not in good conscious support the current version of the bill in committee,” he said.
Rep. Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna) cited the story of child sexual abuse survivor Sarah Kruzan, who was sentenced as a teenager to life in California prison for killing her trafficker in 1994. She was released on parole after serving 19 years.
His H.B. 1616 would provide minor victims of trafficking immunity from prosecution for offenses including felonies that are not violent crimes stemming from their victimization. It would also prevent the revocation of probation or parole for minor victims accused of crimes resulting for their exploitation.
“Simply, this bill gives judges more discretion when sentencing a child whose underlying crime was committed against a person who trafficked them,” Donahue said. The bill passed unanimously.
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A similar measure, H.B. 2243, sponsored by Rep. Joe Webster (D-Montgomery) would expand immunity to prosecution for prostitution to all children and ensure those who are sexually exploited cannot be charged with non-violent offenses related to their exploitation. It also requires all children who are determined to be sexually exploited to be referred to specialized social services. The legislation passed 24-2.
Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) told the committee that she received a call from a constituent who was trying to find protection and relief after her husband shared intimate images of her on the internet without her consent. He used the images to form relationships and engage in cybersex with strangers, Kinkead read from the woman’s account.
“It took months to escape the nightmare. The trauma compounded when I learned that there would be no charges against him,” the woman said, adding that police and prosecutors said that because her husband didn’t intend to harm her, she would likely lose if the case went to trial.
Kinkead’s H.B. 2252 would allow prosecutors to charge a person with a first-degree misdemeanor for sharing intimate images or AI-generated images of a person without their consent. It passed the committee unanimously despite ranking GOP Rep. Rob Kauffman’s caution that the bill was overly broad and needed more refinement.
“The mere act of sharing could be criminalized, raising serious concerns about overreach and unintended consequences,” Kauffman of Franklin County said.
Child advocacy centers across the commonwealth provide crucial support for child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse but face significant underfunding, Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) told the committee.
Mullins and Rep. Jim Rigby (R-Cambria) are cosponsors of H.B. 2443, which would impose a fee on those convicted of offenses against children that would go toward funding child advocacy centers. It would apply to convictions, guilty pleas and pretrial diversion for involuntary deviated sexual intercourse, institutional sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors. The fines would range from $250 to $1,000, depending on the grading of the offense
The legislation passed 25-1, with Rabb again voting “no.” Rabb said in his statement that he’s not confident the measure would provide a viable funding source for advocacy centers.
“This bill funds a child welfare program that may never materialize — fines and fees have chronically low collection rates because many people simply can’t pay. Worse, the fund’s existence becomes dependent on continued criminal legal system involvement, creating a perverse financial incentive to lock up more people,” he said, adding that he would introduce an amendment when the bill comes up for a floor vote.
Reps. Nikki Rivera (D-Lancaster) and Kristin Marcell (R-Bucks) are sponsors of H.B. 2474, which adds distribution of child sexual abuse material and AI- produced child sexual abuse material to the list of offenses mandatory reporters must report directly to the state Childline child abuse hotline.
Both Rivera and Marcell recounted incidents in schools in their districts in which sexualized AI images of students circulated.
“We want to make that punishable and not even a question about reporting,” Rivera said, noting that as a teacher, she recalls uncertainty when the reporting mandate was first passed.
Rivera added that the bill would make the state Department of Human Services responsible for reporting a suspected instance of child sexual abuse material to law enforcement and then to investigate whether child abuse had occurred. The bill passed unanimously.
Marcell said that since the passage of legislation outlawing AI-generated child sexual abuse material and digital impersonations, schools and the other 70 categories of mandatory reporters have been retraining.
“This, I think, honestly, just makes it much easier. The school can hand it over to the right people, and they can look into it,” Marcell said.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.
