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COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP) -- Crimes such as kidnapping that aid human trafficking would be punished more severely under a bill Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to sign this week.
The bill would create a new "human trafficking" specification that prosecutors could attach to related crimes to increase prison sentences - just as penalties are more severe if a crime involves a firearm.
The proposal marks an attempt to address the burgeoning sex trade in northwest Ohio.
The specification would also mandate jail time for convictions on promoting prostitution, illegally using a minor in pornography and endangering children.
The bill, however, isn't as far-reaching as victims' advocates would prefer. It does not create a new crime for sex trafficking, which was opposed by prosecutors who said there are already laws on the books to punish crimes that constitute human trafficking.
State Sen. Teresa Fedor, the Toledo Democrat who pushed the crackdown on human trafficking, said the bill would help address a rash of sex trade activities in northwest Ohio. Fedor's original proposal would have created a separate crime for human trafficking, but she was forced to compromise because of opposition from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
"We were targeted in the nation as being the number one city recruiting underage girls two years in a row by the FBI," Fedor said.
A federal investigation into a child prostitution ring in Harrisburg, Pa., exposed Toledo as a center for the trade in 2005. Nine local girls had been sold as sex slaves as part of the ring, and at least 12 of the 31 people charged had ties to Toledo.
"This concept is very hard to understand in these modern times," Fedor said. "This form of modern-day slavery is not as visible as our experiences in the past."
Fedor said the increase in penalties mandated by the legislation would be a significant step forward.
Under the proposal, the crime of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, normally a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years in prison, would be elevated to a first-degree felony - punishable by three to 10 years - if human trafficking is involved.
John Murphy, executive director of the prosecutor's association, said human trafficking cases are difficult to prosecute because victims often refuse to testify - not because penalties are too lax.
"If they can get away from their captors, they don't want to get involved in the criminal justice system," Murphy said. "They're frightened about what might happen if they do."
The bill also strongly recommends that the attorney general create a special commission to study how Ohio's laws might be further modified to address human trafficking.
Incoming Attorney General Richard Cordray said he supports the establishment of such a commission.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
