In Phoenix husbands/boyfriends as drivers have been charged with a pimping felony vs trafficking, However, it seems sex trafficking charges are getting more common around the U.S.
Sep. 7, 2017 - Reason.com (names edited for privacy)
There was no trafficking victim here—just a couple attempting private sexual activity with another consenting adult. But Maryland cops don't care.
A husband and wife who conspired to get her (safely) paid for sex were arrested. She was charged with a misdemeanor. He's facing a human-trafficking charge and decades in prison.
The case perfectly encapsulates how harsh laws against human trafficking are used to target sex workers' families, friends, and colleagues who so much as drive them to meet a client. It also showcases the sexism at work in enforcement of prostitution and trafficking laws. While it's unjustified to punish either one of these people for this attempt at private sexual activity with another consenting adult, it's especially egregious that the man here is facing a much more severe charge.
On September 1, Washington County District Court Judge RW ordered the man, 35-year-old JH, to be held without bail until the case is resolved.
Neither H nor his wife H, 33, were involved in anything the average person would think of as sex trafficking; this was just an old-fashioned vice sting. Police in Hagerstown, Maryland, responded to online "escort" ads and arrested the women who showed up to meet undercover cops at a local motel.
Her husband had dropped her off and was waiting in the parking lot with the couple's two young children until H texted to say she was OK.
She was booked on one count of prostitution, a charge that can come with up to one year in prison or a fine of up to $500. Her trial is set for November 7. Meanwhile, JH was charged with one count of human trafficking, and two counts of neglect of a minor.
Prosecutors say Hicks is guilty of "human trafficking" because he did "take or cause another to be taken to any place for prostitution." If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The assault and child neglect charges could cost an additional 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
How saddling the mother of two young boys with a criminal record and imprisoning the children's father for decades (and labeling him a sex trafficker) will help anyone is unclear here.
But restoration and justice aren't the true aims of vice laws. The point is keeping cops busy, giving them a chance to play hero, and letting them seize all the assets they can.
