76-5-308.  Human trafficking for labor.

(1)  Terms defined in Sections 76-1-101.5 and 76-5-307 apply to this section.

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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-5-308

  • Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(2)  An actor commits human trafficking for labor if the actor recruits, harbors, transports, obtains, patronizes, or solicits an individual for labor through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, which may include:

(a)  threatening serious harm to, or physical restraint against, that individual or another individual;

(b)  destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating, or possessing any passport, immigration document, or other government-issued identification document;

(c)  abusing or threatening abuse of the law or legal process against the individual or another individual;

(d)  using a condition of an individual being a debtor due to a pledge of the individual’s personal services or the personal services of an individual under the control of the debtor as a security for debt where the reasonable value of the services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined;

(e)  using a condition of servitude by means of any scheme, plan, or pattern intended to cause an individual to believe that if the individual did not enter into or continue in a condition of servitude, the individual or another individual would suffer serious harm or physical restraint, or would be threatened with abuse of legal process; or

(f)  creating or exploiting a relationship where the individual is dependent upon the actor.

(3)  A violation of Subsection (2) is a second degree felony.

(4)  Human trafficking for labor includes any labor obtained through force, fraud, or coercion as described in Subsection (2).

(5)  This offense is a separate offense from any other crime committed in relationship to the commission of this offense.

Amended by Chapter 181, 2022 General Session