SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – When lawmakers return to Pierre for South Dakota’s upcoming legislative session, they’ll consider a bill which would increase the consequences for human trafficking in the state.
“I think it has the potential to be a monumental win for victims of human trafficking by making South Dakota law consistent with federal law, including on mandatory minimums,” said Rachel Schartz, director of grants management with Call to Freedom, which supports people impacted by human trafficking. “I think and I hope that we’ll see a lot more victims see justice at the state level.”
Proposed legislation would require mandatory minimum sentences without the possibility of suspending the sentence; it’s one of South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley’s priorities this session.
“We don’t want human traffickers here in South Dakota, so it sends that message,” Jackley said. “It has a deterrent value, and if they are going to do it here, it has significant penalties.”
Nevertheless, the bill is just legislation. Schartz says it would by no means resolve the issue on its own.
“It’s going to take comprehensive education for state’s attorneys, law enforcement, judges and all other criminal justice stakeholders at the local and state level to really deeply understand what human trafficking is and how to build, prosecute and sentence a case effectively,” Schartz said.
Such sentencing could mean everything to someone trapped in a reality of forced labor or sexual exploitation.
“I think when you look at, historically, we have never at the state level had a successful conviction of human trafficking,” Schartz said. “They have all pled down to lesser crimes or lesser degrees or they’ve gone federal because up until this point, federal law bore a greater burden on sentencing. So I think it’s huge. We have seen far too many victims and survivors of human trafficking never see justice.”
South Dakota’s upcoming legislative session starts Jan. 14.
